CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Church of England Website

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, how often guidance provided by the Church of England on its website on prevention of theft from churches has been accessed.

Stuart Bell: The main source of advice for parishes is the Ecclesiastical Insurance Office, whose comprehensive guidance on the problem of theft of metal from churches has been endorsed by the Church of England, English Heritage and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. A total of 36,000 copies have been printed and 620 more downloaded from their website, and the relevant advice sections of the site have been visited over 1,100 times.
	In addition, there have been 526 hits on the Archbishops' Council's 'churchcare' website since the theft pages were added on 20 January this year, and the Council has e-mailed information on the guidance to dioceses for onward circulation to parishes via their own networks.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Trafficked Women: Regional Refuge Centres

Peter Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if the Government will bring forward proposals to establish regional centres to provide refuge, rehabilitation and support for women trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Barbara Follett: The Government have funded the Poppy Project—which takes referrals from all regions in the country, since 2003. It provides refuge and comprehensive support for women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation. The project received additional resources during our recent national campaign, Operation Pentameter 2, to identify trafficked women and apprehend traffickers, which it used to develop partnerships with 17 third-sector organisations to enable them to better support trafficked women locally.

Single Equality Bill

Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality when the Government plan to publish the Single Equality Bill.

Barbara Follett: The Government will introduce an equality Bill during this Parliament. If it is included in the draft legislative programme for the next Session of Parliament, we will publish it then.

Domestic Violence

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent steps the Government have taken to support victims of domestic violence.

Barbara Follett: I am proud to say that this Government have introduced more measures to support victims of domestic violence than any other before. They include
	Establishing 98 specialist domestic violence courts;
	Allocating £3 million per year over the three years from 2008-07 for independent domestic violence advisers;
	Multi-agency risk assessment conferences will be established across England and Wales by 2011.

Corston Report

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what progress the Government have made in implementing the recommendations of "The Corston report: A review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system."

Barbara Follett: The Government welcomed Baroness Corston's report, and accepted the majority of the report's recommendations. When we published our response, we committed to achieving a number of actions within six months. The Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Maria Eagle) will make a statement on our progress this summer.

Female Entrepreneurship

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality when she next expects to meet representatives of small businesses to discuss measures to encourage female entrepreneurs.

Barbara Follett: The Under-Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Lady Vakra, is responsible for business and competitiveness. She leads on women's enterprise issues, and regularly meets representatives of small businesses. In addition, on May 12 my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Women and Equality will host an event to encourage women to start their own businesses, which I will also attend. Leading women entrepreneurs and the Federation of Small Businesses have been invited.

Employment Discrimination: Pregnancy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government have taken to prevent employment discrimination against women on grounds related to pregnancy.

Barbara Follett: Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 it is unlawful to treat a woman less favourably on the ground of her pregnancy.
	In October 2005, we amended the Sex Discrimination Act to make this clear and to allow employees to know their rights and employers their responsibilities.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many freedom of information requests made to the Government Equalities Office were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information since the GEO was established.

Barbara Follett: Since the establishment of the Government Equalities Office, the breakdown of freedom of information requests made is as follows.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Answered within 20 days 2 
			 Answered within 40 days 2 
			 Answered within 60 days — 
			 Not answered 1 
			 Answered citing an exemption in the  Freedom of Information Act 2000 1 
		
	
	The GEO has also received a request to review a decision made to not publish information sought under section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act. This was responded to within six weeks.
	In anticipation of future requests, the GEO is increasing its capacity to deal effectively with freedom of information requests.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Post-Legislative Scrutiny

Philip Dunne: To ask the Leader of the House what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of post-legislative scrutiny undertaken by the House and its Committees.

Helen Goodman: The Government published their plans for strengthening the process of post-legislative scrutiny of Acts in a White Paper in March. This reflects the Government's agreement with other commentators that post-enactment consideration of how Acts have worked in practice has been something of a gap in the scrutiny of Government activity. It responds in particular to the report of the Law Commission on this subject in 2006 (following an inquiry undertaken by the Commission at the Government's specific request).
	Under the new process, the relevant Government Department will—from now on, beginning with Acts which received Royal Assent in 2005—be submitting to the appropriate departmental Select Committee a memorandum, three to five years after Royal Assent, summarising the steps taken in implementation of each Act and giving a preliminary assessment of how it is working out in practice.

Early-Day Motions

Adam Holloway: To ask the Leader of the House what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Early-Day Motions procedure.

Helen Goodman: The Government's assessment of the procedures governing Early-Day Motions was set out in its July 2007 response to the Procedure Committee's report "Public Petitions and Early Day Motions".
	The Government agreed with the conclusion of the Committee that—while there are some concerns about the number of EDMs—restricting the rules of eligibility for EDMs by reference to subject matter or by imposing a ration for each Member would not be appropriate.

Members' Correspondence

David Taylor: To ask the Leader of the House what recent representations she has received on the performance of Government Departments in dealing with correspondence from hon. Members in a timely manner.

Helen Goodman: My right hon. Friend receives occasional representations from Members, and is aware of points of order that have raised the issue. The Minister for the Cabinet Office has overall ministerial responsibility for this area, and I will be pleased to pass on any comments to him. The latest Cabinet Office report on departments' and agencies' performance on MPs' and Peers' Correspondence (issued by written ministerial statement on 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 71WS) announced that the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons responded to 94 per cent. of correspondence within its 15-day target.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Staff: Disabilities

Nia Griffith: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what percentage of staff employed by the House have a disability.

Nick Harvey: On the basis of a disability questionnaire in December 2007 and subsequent information gathered, 2.67 per cent. of staff of the House have declared a disability.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Shoplifting: Prosecutions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General what representations she has received from small businesses on the rate of prosecutions brought by the Crown Prosecution Service for shoplifting offences.

Vera Baird: As far as I know neither the Attorney-General's Office for the Crown Prosecution Service has received representations from small businesses.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor assured the House that the Government take very seriously the need for the whole criminal justice system to be as effective as possible in tackling crime against shopkeepers and small businesses.
	I commend the hon. Member's efforts to support small businesses in her constituency.

Dangerous Driving

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service takes in prosecuting cases to seek longer sentences for people convicted of dangerous driving which results in serious injury.

Vera Baird: Prosecutors have a general duty to assist the court when sentence is being considered, which may include advising the court of any aggravating factors, the appropriate sentencing range and, where applicable, relevant sentencing guidelines or guideline cases. The prosecutor will also inform the court when it is relevant of the effect of the crime on any victim or on the wider community. However, prosecutors cannot recommend or seek particular sentences; that is a matter for the sentencing court.
	In respect of Crown court cases and more complex cases in the magistrates courts, prosecutors prepare a 'plea and sentence document'. This identifies any aggravating factors in the case, together with relevant sentencing guidelines and guideline cases, so that the court is aware of all relevant factors when sentencing.
	The guideline from the Sentencing Guidelines Council on seriousness sets out aggravating factors to be taken into account when sentencing generally. It includes among the factors indicating a more than usually serious degree of harm
	"an especially serious physical or psychological effect on the victim, even if unintended."
	Specifically on prosecuting cases of bad driving, including cases that result in serious injury or death, the Crown Prosecution Service published its Public Policy Statement on Prosecuting Cases of Bad Driving in December 2007. The Policy makes clear that the prosecutor has a duty to ensure that the court has all the information it needs to enable it to sentence appropriately.

Anthony Leon Peart aka Anthony Leon Joseph

Simon Hughes: To ask the Solicitor-General what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the report on Anthony Leon Peart, aka Anthony Leon Joseph.

Vera Baird: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement on 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1WS. The cross-agency working group is meeting this week and will continue to take forward the detailed responses to the recommendations. I shall report back to the House on progress in due course.

Expert Evidence

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Solicitor-General what progress has been made by the review of expert witnesses in criminal trials; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The OCJR is preparing a summary of expert witness initiatives, which is expected in late spring. The CPS is about to undertake a revision of their current guidance on expert witnesses; it continues to work closely with the independent Forensic Science Regulator in setting standards; and the CPS is also working with the Legal Services Commission in its evaluation of appropriate standards for experts in criminal cases.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Climate Change

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent meetings his Department has held with farmers to discuss the impact of climate change on agriculture.

Phil Woolas: The Department holds regular discussions about the impact of climate change on agriculture. DEFRA's main advisory body in this area is the Rural Climate Change Forum. Membership includes the National Farmers' Union and the Country Land and Business Association, and both organisations represent farmers and land managers. Other members of the Forum are the Carbon Trust, the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission, the National Trust, Natural England and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Forum's remit includes advising on policy, research and communications in relation to agriculture's role in climate change mitigation and the impacts of climate change on agriculture. The forum meets three to four times a year; its last meeting was on 6 February 2008 and it meets again in June 2008.

Biofuels

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice his Department's chief scientist has given on the sustainability of the Government's policy on biofuels; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA's chief scientific adviser gives advice to Ministers on all aspects of biofuels policy and wider climate change strategy.
	The Government's commitment to biofuels is subject to their sustainability. The renewable transport fuel obligation includes a robust carbon and sustainability reporting mechanism to encourage fuel suppliers to source the most sustainable biofuels. We recognise that reporting is only a first step: we are working with the European Commission to ensure that forthcoming EU legislation includes robust mandatory sustainability criteria for biofuels.
	A review of the indirect impacts of biofuels was commissioned by the Department for Transport, and is being led by the Renewable Fuels Agency under Professor Gallagher. DEFRA's chief scientific adviser, along with other Government chief scientific advisers, will peer-review the findings prior to publication. The results of the review will inform policy on the social and environmental sustainability of biofuels.

Climate Change

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average recorded rise in  (a) sea temperatures and  (b) global surface temperatures has been since 2000.

Phil Woolas: Taking short segments of temperature records (for example, considering periods shorter than a decade) emphasises year-to-year variations in climate which can be at odds with the long-term trend.
	Globally, the trend of both sea surface temperatures (SST) and near-surface air temperatures is still upward. The year 2005 was the second warmest year (after 1998) in the air temperature record, which began in 1850. Eleven of the 12 warmest years in the record have occurred in the last 12 years—the exception was 1996. Since 2005, some cooling has occurred because of natural climate variations, including the current Pacific La Niña (1998 was especially warm because of a strong El Niño in that year).
	 (a) Sea Surface Temperature:
	The most recent Met Office Hadley Centre HadSST2 analysis shows that global average SST has risen by 0.09° C per decade since 2000.
	HadSST2 is the main global sea surface temperature analysis, which is produced by taking in situ measurements of SST from ships and buoys taken from 1850 to present.
	 (b) Near-surface Air Temperature:
	The most recent Met Office Hadley Centre and climatic research unit joint analysis shows that since 2000, global average near-surface air temperature has shown a continued warming trend of 0.16° C per decade, with seven of the eight warmest years in the record since 1850 occurring since (and including) 2000. This compares to a rising trend of just over 0.15° C per decade since the mid-1970s and 0.1° C per decade between 1998 and 2007.
	Further details and tables have been placed in the Library.
	 Note:
	In the latest IPCC report, the trend in global average near-surface temperature 1979 to 2005 is 0.163° C per decade.

Departmental Energy

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to reduce its energy consumption in the last 12 months; and what his Department's expenditure on energy was in  (a) the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available and  (b) the immediately preceding 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: The rebuild of the Lion House Building at Alnwick will be the first carbon neutral building on the DEFRA estate. It will deliver specific sustainability targets in relation to management, energy, internal environment, transport, water, materials, land use, ecology and pollution, and has integrated initiatives such as wind turbines, photovoltaic solar electric and solar thermal panels and biomass heating. The project will set the standard for all future DEFRA network estate projects.
	DEFRA is currently installing advanced metering reading (AMR) on approximately 100 of its sites. The meters will capture over 90 per cent. of the DEFRA network estates utility use from electricity, gas, oil and water by the end of summer 2008. The Carbon Trust indicates that savings of up to 10 to 15 per cent. can be achieved through the implementation of initiatives realised through the analysis of AMR data, through reducing the base load, optimising the use of equipment and reducing peak usage.
	DEFRA is implementing the Carbon Trust's Carbon management programme (CMP). The programme has enabled the Department to develop a systematic approach to carbon management and take a strategic approach to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions through operational improvements, reduced energy costs, staff awareness and monitoring initiatives. The CMP is integrated with DEFRA's energy efficiency programme and the numerous renewable energy projects being rolled out across the estate.
	DEFRA is the first Government Department to access Salix Funding—a revolving ring fenced fund, which has been allocated to the CMP. Financial savings from CMP projects will be fed back into the fund for further projects.
	DEFRA has installed 17 powerPerfector units across its estate to optimise voltage, therefore reducing electricity consumption.
	A breakdown of energy costs:
	
		
			  Energy expenditure (electricity, gas, oil) 
			  £ 
			 2006-07 8,535,523 
			 2005-06 6,305,267

Floods: Warnings

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the take-up was for registration with the Environment Agency for flood warnings in each of the last five years; and whether flood warnings extend to business properties.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows the number of properties currently registered with Flood Warnings Direct (FWD). Prior to 2006 the Environment Agency operated an Automatic Voice Messaging (AVG) system which delivered pre-recorded warnings to those who registered with the service. The AVG system provided a phone number for registered properties and therefore did not distinguish between home and business.
	The AVG system was administered independently by Environment Agency area offices and therefore no year on year data of registered membership for this service is held nationally.
	The Environment Agency transferred approximately 120,000 customers from its AVM system onto the new national system prior to FWD going live in January 2006.
	
		
			   Homes  Businesses  Total registered 
			 1995 to 2005 — — 120,000 
			 2006 103,842 6,773 230,615 
			 2007 168,117 16,305 304,422 
			 2008 208,972 23,224 352,196

Weather Forecasts

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where the pilots on the joint work of the Environment Agency and Meteorological Office on the prediction of extreme weather events will take place; and if he will include Gloucestershire as a pilot area.

Derek Twigg: I have been asked to reply.
	The Met Office and Environment Agency are planning to launch a pilot alert service for extreme rainfall events in July 2008 to help the emergency response community mitigate the impacts of such events. The Met Office is working closely with the Environment Agency to finalise the details of the pilot service for England and Wales, including Gloucestershire. The Met Office also intends to make the pilot service available more widely in the UK, and will work closely with the responsible authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

TRANSPORT

Cars

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars have been registered in Great Britain in the last 10 years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number (in thousands) of cars newly registered in Great Britain in each of the last 10 years was as follows.
	
		
			   Number of cars newly registered (Thousand) 
			 1998 2,262 
			 1999 2,257 
			 2000 2,337 
			 2001 2,586 
			 2002 2,682 
			 2003 2,646 
			 2004 2,599 
			 2005 2,443 
			 2006 2,340 
			 2007 2,390 
			 Total (1998 to 2007) 24,542

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) surveys,  (b) questionnaires and  (c) other services were provided by polling companies for her Department in financial year 2007-08, broken down by company.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Services provided by polling companies to the Department for Transport in 2007-08 are summarised in the following tables. These included on-going surveys (table A), ad-hoc surveys (table B) and qualitative research (table C).
	
		
			  (A) Ongoing surveys 
			  Division/agency  Survey/opinion poll  (i) Firm 
			 DFT British social attitudes survey NatCen 
			 DFT Bus passenger satisfaction survey GfK NOP 
			 DFT Public attitudes towards road pricing ONS 
			 DFT Public attitudes towards climate change. ONS 
			 DFT THINK! Tracking Research BMRB 
			 DFT Child and parents advertising Murmur 
			 DFT Climate Change Pre and Post advertising tracking BMRB 
			 DFT Act on CO2 campaign awareness tracking BMRB 
			 DFT Directgov motoring awareness and usage omnibus BMRB 
			 DFT Operators Survey 2007 Ipsos-MORI 
			 DFT Customer Satisfaction Survey—GCDA Ipsos MORI 
			 DFT Citizen's Panel GFK NOP 
			 HA National road users satisfaction surveys Faber Maunsell 
			 HA Area road users satisfaction surveys Faber Maunsell 
			 HA Satisfaction with traffic officer service Faber Maunsell 
			 HA Measuring improvements in network and information services Faber Maunsell 
			 DSA Candidate Satisfaction Survey Ipsos-MORI 
			 DSA Business Customer Satisfaction Survey Ipsos-MORI 
			 DSA PDI Satisfaction Survey Ipsos-MORI 
			 MCA Coastguard Customer Satisfaction Survey (ongoing but not run in 2007-08) Amey PMG 
			 MCA Registry of Shipping and Seamen Amey PMG 
			 VCA Type Approval Customer Satisfaction Metra Martech 
			 DVLA DVLA Call Centre Mystery Shopper Research Vocall 
			 DVLA Private Motorist Survey Beaufort Research 
		
	
	
		
			  (B) Ad-hoc surveys 2007-08 
			  Division/agency  Survey/opinion poll  (i) Firm 
			 DFT Public attitude towards car sharing NatCen 
			 DFT Public attitude towards buses and concessionary fares ONS 
			 DFT Public attitudes towards Aviation ONS 
			 DFT Post tracking Teen MTV Campaign SMRC Childwise 
			 DFT Pre and post tracking Parents' Campaign SMRC Childwise 
			 DFT THINK! Parents Campaign Virtual surveys 
			 DFT Drink Drive Davies McKerr 
			 DFT Driving for Work Firefish/AMV 
			 DFT THINK! Seatbelts TRL 
			 DFT Customers Expectations of Service Standards ORC 
			 DFT Consumer customers' channel choice TNS 
			 DFT Commercial customers' channel choice Simpson Carpenter 
			 DFT Survey of the UK element of EU provision of drink drive rehabilitations schemes TRL 
			 DFT Neighbourhood Road Safety initiatives project—surveys University College London (lead supplier) University of Surrey University of the West of England, University of Wales Swansea, Child Accident Prevention Trust 
			 DFT Demand for cars and their attributes BMRB—conducted the survey element 
			 DFT Use of Advanced Cabin Baggage X-ray equipment. QinetiQ 
			 DFT Analysis for Heathrow Consultation Ipsos-MORI and Detica 
			 DFT Survey of Blue Badge Holders Faber Maunsell 
			 DFT Survey of Blue Badge Holders attitudes and behaviours BMRB 
			 DFT Wider public's view of Blue Badge scheme Faber Maunsell 
			 HA Satisfaction with traffic management trial at junctions 19 and 12 of M25 Faber Maunsell 
			 HA Highways Agency Travel Information Services Omnibus GfK NOP 
			 DSA Driver CPC research Ipsos MORI 
			 VOSA Drivers and fitters annual Customer satisfactions survey Ipsos-MORI 
			 VOSA 2 Stations test trial Beaufort Research 
			 DVLA Local Office Customer Survey MORI 
			 DVLA Electronic Delivery Channel Research Beaufort Research 
			 DVLA Theft Resistant Number Plate Beaufort Research 
			 DVLA EVL Postcard Research Beaufort Research 
			 DVLA 3D Verification by VISA MRUK 
			 DVLA Ten Year Renewal Phase 2 Post Office Research Beaufort Research 
			 DVLA Motoring Brand Awareness Omnibus Research TNS (via COI) 
		
	
	
		
			  (C) Qualitative research 2007-08 
			  Division/agency  Projects  (i) Firm 
			 DFT Attitudes and motivations of teleworkers NatCen 
			 DFT Travel needs behaviours and aspirations of Disabled People NatCen 
			 DFT Directgov Motoring Usability research Virtual Surveys 
			 DFT Transport Office/Business Link Usability research Virtual Surveys 
			 DFT Public acceptability of Road Pricing BMRB 
			 DFT Public Acceptability of New Technologies Accent 
			 DFT The Role of the Car NatCen 
			 DFT Qualitative depth interviews with Blue Badge Holders Faber Maunsell 
			 DFT Exploring Public attitudes to personal carbon dioxide emission information BMRB 
			 DFT Understanding travel needs, behaviour and aspirations of people in later life NatCen 
			 DFT Understanding travel aspirations, needs and behaviour of young adults NatCen 
			 DFT Accessibility Planning Evaluation scoping study Atkins and CRSP 
			 DFT Attitudes to Climate change and Barriers/motivations to behavioural change People, science and Policy 
			 DVLA Ten Year Renewal Focus Group Research Beaufort Research 
			 DVLA EVL Creative Advertising Focus Group Research Beaufort Research 
			 DVLA EVL Web Design Focus Group Research Beaufort Research 
			 HA Mystery Shopping of HA Information Services Faber Maunsell 
			 HA Evaluation of Think Ahead Move Ahead booklet Faber Maunsell 
			 HA Evaluation of Think Ahead Move Ahead booklet (Part 2) Faber Maunsell 
			 HA VMS Accuracy Faber Maunsell 
			 VOSA Service agents Qualitative Research Simpson Carter

Driving Tests

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria she uses to determine whether driving centres should be approved for closure.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 29 April 2008
	Decisions regarding the location of individual driving test centres are taken by the Driving Standards Agency.
	The agency is a trading fund. As such, it is generally obliged to ensure that its operating costs are met from fee income. It seeks, therefore, to strike a reasonable balance between providing readily accessible driver testing services and the resultant costs that must be passed on to its customers.
	In reaching decisions about car practical test centre location, the DSA must take account of the following ministerially agreed guidance on distance criteria at each level of population density:
	
		
			  Population density  Distance criteria 
			 >=1,250/km(2) No more than 7 miles 
			 101-1,249/km(2) No more than 20 miles 
			 0-100/km(2) No more than 30 miles 
		
	
	In respect of motorcycle practical test centre location, the DSA requires that most customers should be able to reach a motorcycle testing facility within 45 minutes, travelling no more than 20 miles.
	When considering the closure of a driving test centre, DSA follows the "Code of Practice on Written Consultations—Driving Test Centres" which is available on the DSA's website and was agreed by Ministers.

First Great Western: Standards

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish the rail improvement plan for First Great Western.

Tom Harris: A Remedial Agreement has been contractualised with First Great Western, the details of which will be on the Department's website in due course.

M20: Noise

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1445W, on M20: Noise, how many sites have been designated as high priority for resurfacing.

Tom Harris: A total of 26 stretches of concrete carriageway were identified in April 2003 in England as high priority for resurfacing with quieter materials.

M25: Cost-Effectiveness

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will place in the Library a copy of the cost-benefit analysis which informed her decision on whether to include the M25 widening projects in the national feasibility study into rolling out active traffic management.

Tom Harris: I have placed the documents and subsequent analysis on this matter in the Library of the House and on the Department's website.

Roads: Accidents

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) men and  (b) women died in car accidents in each year since 2000 where the driver was (i) male and (ii) female and aged 21 or under.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of  (a) male and  (b) female car occupant fatalities in reported road accidents in 2000 to 2006 where the driver was (i) male and (ii) female and aged 21 years or under are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of fatalities 
			   0 to 21-year-old male car driver  0 to 21-year-old female car driver 
			   Male fatality  Female fatality  Male fatality  Female fatality 
			 2000 312 63 18 42 
			 2001 354 64 24 50 
			 2002 332 64 18 52 
			 2003 373 59 17 41 
			 2004 349 64 21 48 
			 2005 365 71 19 63 
			 2006 375 61 21 61

Roads: Construction

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1421W, on Roads: Construction, when she expects the information on carbon impacts of Highways Agency road schemes to be published on the Highways Agency website and placed in the Library.

Tom Harris: We expect to publish the information in relation to the carbon impacts of Highways Agency road schemes in the summer.

Transport: Sustainable Development

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice she has  (a) sought and  (b) received from the Chief Scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on sustainability and the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government have always made clear that its biofuel policies must be based on the best available scientific evidence. We have asked the Renewable Fuels Agency to lead a review of the emerging evidence on the wider, indirect impacts of biofuel production. Professor Bob Watson, together with other Government chief scientific advisers, has been asked to peer-review its findings. The review is due to report in June.

OLYMPICS

London 2012: Manpower

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what proportion of staff working for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games are  (a) women and  (b) men.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is a private company, and has a strong diversity and inclusion policy on its recruitment and retention of staff and volunteers that covers gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion and age. This is regularly monitored for its effectiveness.

Olympic Games 2012: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what consultations the Government have undertaken with financial institutions on financing the 2012 Olympics; and what the cost of such consultations was.

Tessa Jowell: The Government Olympic Executive has received informal advice, at no cost from financial institutions, on the possibilities for financing the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
	The International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre and the Olympic Village are developer-led projects in which the developer is responsible for bank and equity funding. The Olympic Delivery Authority has taken and will continue to take appropriate advice on the nature of these transactions but does not have direct contractual relations with any financial institutions, and consequently has not paid for any advice from them.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of the Creative Economy Strategy.

Margaret Hodge: The 'Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy' document was deposited in the House Libraries, via a written ministerial statement, on 21 February 2008, Official Report, column 58WS.

Arts Council England: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1959W, on Arts Council England: Finance, what  (a) resource and  (b) capital allocations have been made for (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11.

Margaret Hodge: Resource and capital allocations for Arts Council England (ACE) are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Resource  Capital 
			 2008-09 428,955 1,950 
			 2009-10 443,455 1,550 
			 2010-11 466,955 1,550

Culture Leadership Programme

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the performance of the cultural leadership programme; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Cultural Leadership Programme (CLP) is formed from the Partnership of Arts Council England, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and Creative and Cultural Skills. Funding has been channelled through Arts Council England, which has assessed the programme as part of the ongoing review of its work and priorities. A mix of formal and informal learning opportunities has been created and is supported by the programme, including placements, courses, online information, advice and guidance; as well as work-based support including coaching and mentoring opportunities.
	The programme is having a good impact on leadership development, in terms of both the new opportunities offered to emerging, mid-career and established leaders, and increasing awareness of the benefits of targeted leadership development for these important areas of the UK life and economy.
	The programme has been delivered by a very small team, ensuring that an investment of over 85 per cent. of the £12 million made available has been spent directly on activities that will support leaders, and keeping administration and support costs to a minimum. The programme was launched just two years ago in June 2006, and the first phase ends in June 2008. The Department expects to receive a formal evaluation of the CLP soon after the end of this first phase.

Culture Leadership Programme: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what resources  (a) his Department,  (b) the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council,  (c) the Arts Council and  (d) Creative and Cultural Skills plan to make available to the Cultural Leadership programme in each of the next three years.

Margaret Hodge: In the period 2008-11 all financial support for the Cultural Leadership Programme will come from the settlement to the Arts Council. The Arts Council has agreed figures of £3,000,000 for 2008-09; £3,500,000 for 2009-10 and £3,500,000 for 2010-11.
	There will be no financial contribution from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Creative and Cultural Skills or the DCMS, although they will continue to steer the development of the Programme through the Cultural Leadership Programme Delivery Partnership.

Culture Leadership Programme: Internet

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) hits and  (b) unique visitors the Cultural Leadership programme's website received in each of the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: The following table details the visits made to the Cultural Leadership Programme's website over the last 12 months.
	
		
			  Month  Hits  Unique visits 
			  2007   
			 April 117,900 2,748 
			 May 65,065 1,563 
			 June 79,511 1,963 
			 July 90,865 2,612 
			 August 96,589 2,583 
			 September 61,274 1,919 
			 October 88,062 2,573 
			 November 101,272 2,862 
			 December 80,229 2,401 
			  2008   
			 January 114,119 2,941 
			 February 133,280 3,439 
			 March 58,733 1,798 
			 April 105,867 3,178 
			 Total 1,192,766 32,580

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent £3,415.27 on carbon offsetting for the year 2006-07. This was the first payment of this type and was made to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund, which is managed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Digital Broadcasting: Rural Areas

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to address the digital divide in rural areas.

Andy Burnham: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales has been appointed as the Minister for Digital Inclusion and will work with other Departments, including mine, to co-ordinate policies and develop a coherent strategy to ensure that all citizens, especially the disadvantaged, benefit from the use of digital technologies. My Department is committed to addressing the digital divide where it is economically and technologically feasible to do so.

Digital Switchover Help Scheme

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of  (a) the research on return path capability amongst the elderly and  (b) the drafted return path costed option annex referred to in the minutes of the Emerging Technologies Group meeting on 27 February in relation to the digital switchover assistance scheme.

Andy Burnham: The Emerging Technologies Group (ETG) was told that research on return path usage by the elderly existed, but the group has not yet had sight of this or any related research. No steps have been taken by the ETG to produce a costed option for including return path functionality within set-top-box equipment.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 May 2008,  Official Report, column 596W.

Monuments: VAT

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the VAT Relief on Memorials scheme in each of the next three years.

Margaret Hodge: The Memorials Grant Scheme makes grants equivalent to the VAT incurred by charities and faith groups in establishing or repairing public memorials. The scheme is demand-led and it is not possible, therefore, to estimate future costs accurately.

Paralympic Games

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects the Playground to Podium Paralympics strategy paper to be published.

Andy Burnham: Sport England has advised that the Playground to Podium Steering Group is in the process of making final amendments to the framework following a consultation process with national governing bodies of sport and Steering Group members. The final framework will be published prior to the programme launch in September, in line with the commencement of the new school year.
	The framework provides a clear rationale for the selection of, and investment in, a focused number of sports bodies that can support the delivery of a disability pathway for their sports from playground through to podium.
	Sport England has taken responsibility on behalf of the Playground to Podium Steering group to co-ordinate the assessment and selection of sports, and has advised that sports bodies will be informed whether they have been selected in early May. Applications for funding will then be invited from the appropriate national governing bodies.

Regional Sports Boards: Pay

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department paid to the chairmen and chairwomen of regional sports boards in England in respect of their board duties in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: The following payments were made.
	
		
			  Part 1: Payments to RSB 
			  Chairs   April 2007 to March 2008 
			  RSB Chair  Region  Salary  Travel and Subsistence 
			 Cantle-Jones T. North East 8,040 1,631 
			 Rowley P. W. North East 3,576 0 
			 Price P. Yorkshire 10,720 0 
			 Jackson L. C. East Midlands 10,720 0 
			 Castle S. East 10,000 566 
			 Lewis P. London 6,253 0 
			 Brewer J London 4,505 142 
			 McAnally M. South East 10,720 1,646 
			 Roddy G. South West 11,413 3,063 
			 Mirza R. West Midlands 10,720 3,479 
			 Worthington A. North West 10,720 3,844 
			 Total  97,388 14,371

Religious Buildings: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the Listed Places of Worship scheme in each of the next three years.

Margaret Hodge: The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme makes grants equivalent to the VAT incurred in making repairs to listed buildings in use as places of worship, and to clocks, pews, bells and organs that are fixtures in such buildings. The scheme is demand-led and it is not possible, therefore, to estimate future costs with precision.

Royal Ballet and Opera: Prices

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the affordability of seats for performances by the  (a) Royal Ballet and  (b) Royal Opera; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: My Department has not assessed the affordability of seats for performances by the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera.
	The cost of seats is a matter for individual arts organisations to decide.
	Arts Council England has also not assessed the affordability of seats for performances at either the Royal Ballet or the Royal Opera House. Arts Council England has recently produced guidance for arts organisations on how to maximise revenue while minimising the risk of price becoming a barrier that prevents people from attending or participating.
	I am arranging for copies of 'Call it a tenner. The role of pricing in the arts' to be placed in the House Libraries.

Tourism Strategy Fund

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department provided for the Tourism Strategy Fund in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 1 May 2008
	 : The Tourism Strategy Fund was a specific budget used to fund a number of tourism support initiatives arising from the policy document 'Tomorrow's Tourism' in 1999. The Department spent £30,000 in 2004-05, and no money has been spent through this fund since April 2005.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Jobcentre Plus: Training

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how long an individual must claim unemployment benefits before becoming eligible to go on a training course offered by Jobcentre Plus.

James Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 8 May 2008:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how long an individual must claim unemployment benefits before they are eligible to go on a training course offered by Jobcentre Plus. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Most people who claim Jobseeker's Allowance find work very quickly and only need general information, advice and guidance on how best to look for work. However, for those who need additional help, training courses are available at different stages, depending upon the needs of the individual:
	People with an obvious literacy, numeracy or language need are identified at the new claims stage and encouraged to take immediate steps to address those needs through the Learning and Skills Council's Employment Skills Programme or other provision available locally.
	People who need additional help with jobsearch skills, confidence and motivation and 'soft' skills associated with the world of work can access help through Programme Centres after 26 weeks unemployment, although earlier access is available where such help is clearly needed to have a realistic chance of finding work.
	At 26 weeks, a fast-track assessment tool is used to screen people for any basic skills need not previously identified, and where appropriate, people are referred for help through the Employment and Skills Programme.
	Full-time education and training is available through the New Deal, participation in which is mandatory for young people after six months unemployment; and for people aged 25 and over when they have been unemployed for 18 out of the previous 21 months. That said, immediate/early access is available where it is clear the customer is particularly disadvantaged in the labour market and the prospect of finding work is much less likely without additional help.
	Pre-employment training may also be available through Local Employment Partnerships through which participating employers have committed to provide more job opportunities for people who are finding it particularly difficult to find work, such as longer-term unemployed people or people living in areas of high unemployment. In return, Jobcentre Plus and other partners, for example the Learning and Skills Council prepare people for work through a range of measures, which may include pre-employment training to prepare people for the sort of jobs available locally. Once in work, ongoing development of skills is encouraged through skills advice and support, e.g. through Train to Gain.
	Building upon the success of New Deal and Local Employment Partnerships, there are plans to develop and implement an integrated employment and skills service as announced in "Ready for work: full employment in our generation" and "Ready to Work, Skilled for Work: Unlocking Britain's Talent". A key part of this will be better and earlier screening to identify jobseekers with a skills need that is a major barrier to employment and referring them to a full skills heath-check and then appropriate remedial provision.

Pension Credit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many pensioners received pension credit in  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06,  (c) 2006-07 and  (d) 2007-08;
	(2)  how many pensioners received the guarantee credit in  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06,  (c) 2006-07 and  (d) 2007-08.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 17 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1419W, which gives the number of pensioners in receipt of pension credit and the number of pensioners in receipt of the guarantee credit each year from 2003 to 2007.

Rented Housing: Cambridgeshire

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of how much and what proportion of private rented accommodation in  (a) Cambridge city council area,  (b) the South Cambridgeshire district council area,  (c) Cambridge constituency,  (d) South Cambridgeshire constituency and  (e) South East Cambridgeshire constituency are available at or below the median rent established by the Rent Service for the relevant broad rental market area.

James Plaskitt: The local housing allowance (LHA) is a median value calculated from a list of rents, for the number of bedrooms, collected from the private rented sector in a broad rental market area (BRMA). As the LHA is a median value, the middle value from the list of rents held in ascending order, it will always ensure that half of the properties in the BRMA will be affordable for housing benefit customers.
	The Rent Service determines the median rents for each BRMA. We do not hold data that would show the proportion of the properties available at or below the median rent that lie within each local authority or constituency.

Social Security Benefits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what benefits administered by his Department are uprated in line with a measure of  (a) prices and  (b) earnings broken down by measure used;
	(2)  what benefits administered by his Department are uprated annually under statute broken down by those uprated in line with  (a) prices and  (b) earnings; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The powers to review and alter the rate of benefits are contained in the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (Sections 150 to 154). Sections 150 and 150A of that Act prescribe the benefits that must be reviewed on an annual basis and how they are to be uprated. The annual change in the retail prices index is used to uprate the following benefits, which, by statute, must be reviewed and up-rated annually at least in line with prices;
	State Pensions (with the exception of the age addition);
	Additional Pensions paid with State Pension and Widows' Benefits;
	Increments: for the deferment of State Pension and Guaranteed Minimum Pensions;
	Incapacity Benefit;
	Attendance Allowance;
	Severe Disablement Allowance;
	Carer's Allowance;
	Disability Living Allowance;
	Industrial Injuries Benefits (including old cases);
	Adult and Child Dependants Increases (The Child Dependants Increase is fixed in practice);
	Widows Benefit and Bereavement Benefit rates (with the exception of Bereavement Payment), which are currently linked to the basic State Pension rate.
	The standard minimum guarantee in pension credit must be reviewed and increased at least in line with earnings. The usual measure is the May to July headline figure for the whole economy, seasonally adjusted and including bonuses. However, for the April 2008 uprating, the increase was 4.2 per cent. in line with the Budget 2007 announcement which more than keeps pace with prices and earnings.
	During the next Parliament we will re-link the uprating of the basic state pension to average earnings. Our objective, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, is to do this in 2012, but in any event by the end of the next Parliament at the latest.
	For the full list of Social Security benefits and the basis on which they are currently up-rated I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 4 February 2008,  Official Report, column 857W.

Written Questions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to answer Question 162350, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 6 November, on incapacity benefit claimants.

Stephen Timms: I replied to the hon. Member's question on 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 577-8W.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Childbirth

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many births there were in each year since 1978.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not collect birth statistics. Latest Office for National Statistics figures relating to births in England and Wales are as follows.
	
		
			   Number of live births in England and Wales 
			 1978 596,418 
			 1979 638,028 
			 1980 656,234 
			 1981 634,492 
			 1982 625,931 
			 1983 629,134 
			 1984 636,818 
			 1985 656,417 
			 1986 661,018 
			 1987 681,511 
			 1988 693,577 
			 1989 687,725 
			 1990 706,140 
			 1991 699,217 
			 1992 689,656 
			 1993 673,467 
			 1994 664,726 
			 1995 648,138 
			 1996 649,485 
			 1997 643,095 
			 1998 635,901 
			 1999 621,872 
			 2000 604,441 
			 2001 594,634 
			 2002 596,122 
			 2003 621,469 
			 2004 639,721 
			 2005 645,835 
			 2006 669,601

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Building Research Establishment: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding she allocated to the Building Research Establishment in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not allocate funding to the Building Research Establishment (BRE). However the BRE is one of the Department's preferred contractors under its framework agreements and has undertaken work for the Department both as part of these frameworks and under contracts let outside of them. The total payments made for work undertaken by BRE for the Department in each of the last three years is:
	
		
			   £000 
			 2005-06 4,261 
			 2006-07 4,532 
			 2007-08 2,900

Council Tax: Fire Services

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average Band D council tax precept was for fire authorities in England in 1998-99.

John Healey: The average Band D council tax precept for the seven precepting fire authorities in England in 1998-99 was £26.56.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1411W, on property: valuation, whether the Valuation Office Agency considers the presence of a  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent traveller encampment near a domestic dwelling to be material in determining the level of council tax.

John Healey: When undertaking a valuation to arrive at, or amend, a council tax banding, all material factors that affect the open market value of a dwelling will be taken into account, as required by the Council Tax (Situation and Valuation of Dwellings) Regulations 1992.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 613W, on council tax: valuation, when the Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board (England) met.

John Healey: The Valuation Office Agency's Programme Board for the now postponed council tax revaluation generally met monthly between March 2003 and November 2005.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answers of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 613W and of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1390W, on council tax: valuation, if she will place in the Library copies of minutes of the meetings the Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board (England) prior to 22nd November 2005 redacting the minutes in the same manner as those for 22 November 2005.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1415W.

Councillors: Complaints

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether complaints about breaches of the councillors' code of conduct can be made anonymously under the new scheme.

John Healey: Yes. Local authority standards committees will be able to consider anonymous complaints.
	However, standards committees must have regard to guidance issued by the Standards Board for England, which stresses that anonymous complaints should only be considered in limited circumstances, such as when they are accompanied by evidence that the allegation is of an exceptionally serious or significant matter.
	The guidance also advises local authorities to publish a statement setting out how they will deal with anonymous complaints.

Departmental Civil Service Agencies

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the role of the relevant Shareholder Executive is in determining the definition of the public tasks of her Department's agencies.

Iain Wright: The Shareholder Executive is responsible for advising Ministers from this Department directly on the management of their shareholding and financial interests in Ordnance Survey, a Government Department and executive agency in its own right. The executive also advises the Department on its interests in two other trading funds, the Fire Service College and the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.
	In April 2007, Ministers asked Ordnance Survey and the Shareholder Executive to work together to prepare a more precise articulation of Ordnance Survey's public task as set out in the Ordnance Survey Framework Document 2004. This work was undertaken between April and June 2007, and Ministers approved the revised public task document in July 2007.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessor spent on entertaining in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 27 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1594W.
	The Department does not record expenditure for entertainment on its finance systems and the figures in the earlier reply relate to hospitality. Changes in coding parameters on the Departments financial systems mean that figures for earlier years can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure on hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

EC Grants and Loans: Castle Point

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received from Castle Point borough council on the use of European Union funding for the Charfleets green business initiative; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has not received any representations from Castle Point borough council on the use of European Union funding, for the Charfleets green business initiative.

Floods: Repairs and Maintenance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1405W., on floods: repair and maintenance, if she will undertake an assessment of the availability of plumbers, electricians, plasterers and other essential workers necessary to complete repairs to flood damaged properties.

John Healey: We have no plans to carry out such an assessment.

Housing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her target is for the number of transactions under each of the  (a) social market homebuy,  (b) New Build HomeBuy and  (c) Open Market Homebuy schemes annually.

Iain Wright: We have clearly stated in the Housing Green Paper 'Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable', that we will provide 25,000 shared ownership and shared equity homes a year over the next three years. We have not set individual targets for Open Market HomeBuy or NewBuild HomeBuy to ensure flexibility within the programme. Social HomeBuy is a demand-led product and as such no targets are associated with this programme.

Housing: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes have been built in each London  (a) constituency and  (b) local authority area since 1997.

Iain Wright: Information on new build completions by constituency is not held centrally. The following table provides the figures as reported by local authorities:
	
		
			  New build completions by London boroughs 1997-98 to 2006-07 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 London 13,623 14,426 13,678 14,492 13,927 15,670 19,394 24,063 18,809 21,997 
			
			 Barking and Dagenham 45 89 127 426 164 222 263 576 467 684 
			 Barnet 637 703 818 656 471 712 902 1,326 597 377 
			 Bexley 453 208 206 482 223 271 773 221 140 212 
			 Brent 30 81 168 525 476 850 536 390 251 632 
			 Bromley 115 234 208 332 359 203 269 874 497 484 
			 Camden 237 451 323 405 257 77 162 499 400 378 
			 City of London 235 163 301 165 105 67 213 45 41 2 
			 Croydon 575 382 332 242 272 616 289 391 400 845 
			 Ealing 773 456 273 140 324 236 730 605 702 1,325 
			 Enfield 600 311 189 920 1,860 606 379 524 703 998 
			 Greenwich 431 536 980 586 1,099 1,410 878 1,576 1,073 1,134 
			 Hackney 708 250 404 762 612 333 205 525 353 420 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 220 144 106 75 26 78 135 281 131 202 
			 Haringey 199 88 109 185 178 172 78 569 79 35 
			 Harrow 185 151 97 110 93 547 291 238 275 320 
			 Havering 138 250 284 274 307 263 271 457 486 650 
			 Hillingdon 392 212 459 564 288 391 426 473 306 194 
			 Hounslow 411 632 260 264 292 459 998 111 1,192 1,556 
			 Islington 151 374 451 257 214 283 220 166 383 743 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 184 196 228 157 130 269 602 120 75 139 
			 Kingston upon Thames 838 446 336 271 200 207 405 425 188 172 
			 Lambeth 339 207 149 231 284 392 224 552 659 942 
			 Lewisham 453 360 251 151 289 483 447 188 164 457 
			 Merton 108 260 353 171 508 306 115 502 948 646 
			 Newham 364 312 518 484 722 402 981 553 796 471 
			 Redbridge 382 100 501 159 301 510 419 650 963 513 
			 Richmond upon Thames 201 625 175 157 147 269 361 316 249 159 
			 Southwark 834 688 336 323 363 384 619 1,832 1,120 512 
			 Sutton 338 302 257 441 191 372 272 670 400 455 
			 Tower Hamlets 834 941 1,268 1,324 1,429 1,486 1,916 2,952 1,918 1,904 
			 Waltham Forest 846 836 196 812 129 345 191 293 256 394 
			 Wandsworth 264 551 617 212 336 625 483 1,260 338 722 
			 Westminster 671 744 807 1,315 552 842 784 421 357 211 
			  Source: New build completions from P2 returns submitted by local authorities and the National House Building Council (NHBC). Regional totals include imputation for missing returns from local authorities. The local authority level figures are as reported and do not include imputation estimates. Regional totals may not equal the sum of the local authority totals.

Housing: North West

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes were built in each parliamentary constituency in the North West in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: holding answer 30 April 2008
	Information on housing completions is collected on the basis of local authorities' administrative boundaries, and on the information provided by local authorities, not by constituency boundaries.
	The following table shows housing completions for the period 1998 to 2007 in the local authorities that make up the North-West of England.
	
		
			  New build completions for local authorities in the North West Region 
			  Local authority  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Allerdale 274 126 224 624 215 167 89 133 277 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 123 120 142 385 150 107 74 108 118 
			 Blackburn with Darwen UA 546 312 524 1,382 407 347 221 294 139 
			 Blackpool UA 246 149 227 622 206 141 290 135 99 
			 Bolton 516 804 655 1,975 628 596 589 515 892 
			 Burnley 229 249 260 738 77 132 81 159 81 
			 Bury 314 300 308 922 439 400 403 673 589 
			 Carlisle 360 316 368 1,044 383 366 341 349 264 
			 Chester 201 281 200 682 308 293 143 212 76 
			 Chorley 404 467 412 1,283 464 393 305 349 253 
			 Congleton 486 399 322 1,207 377 255 284 297 180 
			 Copeland 123 180 197 500 144 149 264 498 176 
			 Crewe and Nantwich 624 612 610 1,846 513 589 591 580 553 
			 Eden 148 159 113 420 228 132 178 62 125 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 201 173 58 432 77 126 207 309 128 
			 Fylde 250 244 241 735 248 327 215 127 210 
			 Halton UA 154 266 327 747 246 728 427 594 426 
			 Hyndburn 208 212 178 598 164 169 170 259 140 
			 Knowsley 166 194 275 635 108 398 385 221 539 
			 Lancaster 283 335 284 902 459 500 192 78 101 
			 Liverpool 1,343 1,254 1,406 4,003 827 1,041 1,472 2,734 2,091 
			 Macclesfield 325 311 387 1,023 379 296 275 322 183 
			 Manchester 1,367 1,453 1,712 4,532 2,787 1,770 924 1,024 1,355 
			 Oldham 634 477 414 1,525 370 496 286 362 530 
			 Pendle 114 190 207 511 159 158 177 117 206 
			 Preston 566 274 360 1,200 82 289 718 395 177 
			 Ribble Valley 164 133 198 495 187 226 157 74 71 
			 Rochdale 533 508 381 1,422 449 154 247 463 232 
			 Rossendale 206 133 59 398 158 208 318 181 134 
			 Salford 590 524 636 1,750 482 810 1,214 1,490 495 
			 Sefton 669 468 487 1,624 475 491 127 291 200 
			 South Lakeland 354 317 256 927 282 154 162 253 283 
			 South Ribble 494 428 237 1,159 523 269 345 453 229 
			 St. Helens 555 417 473 1,445 434 441 840 286 301 
			 Stockport 237 398 292 927 171 290 208 405 352 
			 Tameside 289 365 588 1,242 442 333 410 707 728 
			 Trafford 378 238 214 830 509 671 751 668 504 
			 Vale Royal 482 729 617 1,828 533 365 297 224 150 
			 Warrington UA 385 519 473 1,377 481 529 619 1,054 711 
			 West Lancashire 405 330 340 1,075 411 256 422 143 159 
			 Wigan 1,309 1,147 922 3,378 624 850 830 1,000 1,348 
			 Wirral 849 685 632 2,166 648 517 435 495 516 
			 Wyre 268 324 493 1,085 368 381 208 198 207 
			 Region 18,372 17,520 17,709 53,601 17,622 17,310 16,891 19,291 16,528

Housing: Planning Permission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for changes to permitted development rights with regards to household extensions; and how the proposed changes will amend planning rules on loft extensions.

Iain Wright: The Government intend to bring into force amendments to householder permitted development rights, including those for roof extensions, in October this year. The proposed regime will keep the current approach that allows householders roof extensions of up to no more than 40 cubic metres for terraced houses and 50 cubic metres for detached and semi-detached properties. An extension will not be permitted on a roof that fronts the house and is visible from the highway. Rear loft extensions will have to be set back at least 20 centimetres from the eaves.
	A key change for all types of household extension is that the overall household volume restriction will be removed. This means that householders will no longer have to apply for planning permission for loft extensions if they have already extended at ground level.
	Roof extensions will not be permitted development in certain sensitive areas such as conservation areas and national parks.

Housing: Sustainable Development

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assumptions are made on the amount of waste and recycling produced each week in litres by family homes in determining the Code for Sustainable Homes recommendations on household waste storage capacity.

Iain Wright: The Code for Sustainable Homes does not make any assumptions on the amount of waste and recycling produced by family homes. The Code's Technical Guidance published in April 2008 contains mandatory minimum standards for the waste and recycling component for all levels of the Code. It states that space allocated for waste storage should be able to hold containers, the volume of which must be at least the minimum recommended by British Standard BS 5906 (British Standards, 2005) i.e. 100 litres volume for a single bedroom dwelling, with a further 70 litres volume for each additional bedroom.
	A local authority recycling scheme offering containers equal to or greater than this volume would meet the requirements under the Code for Sustainable Homes, providing adequate external space is allocated to accommodate them. If the local authority provides containers with a smaller volume, or if no local authority scheme exists, the developer will need to ensure and demonstrate that the minimum recommended volume is met if they are to meet the requirements under the Code.
	The Code also states that all containers must be accessible to disabled people, particularly wheelchair users, and sited on a hard, level surface. To allow easy access, the containers must not be stacked.

INTERREG Programme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1203W, on the France (Channel)-England Programme Managing Authority, which local authorities in England fall within the programme area.

John Healey: The following local authorities in England fall within the area covered by the France (Channel)—England cross border co-operation programme:
	 South East England
	Brighton and Hove City Council
	East Sussex County Council
	Eastbourne Borough Council
	Hastings Borough Council
	Lewes District Council
	Rother District Council
	Wealden District Council
	Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
	East Hampshire District Council
	Eastleigh Borough Council
	Fareham Borough Council
	Gosport Borough Council
	Hampshire County Council
	Hart District Council
	Havant Borough Council
	New Forest District Council
	Portsmouth City Council
	Rushmoor Borough Council
	Southampton City Council
	Test Valley Borough Council
	Winchester City Council
	Isle of Wight Council
	Waverley Borough Council
	Woking Borough Council
	Adur District Council
	Arun District Council
	Chichester District Council
	Crawley Borough Council
	Horsham District Council
	Mid Sussex District Council
	West Sussex County Council
	Worthing Borough Council
	Ashford Borough Council
	Canterbury City Council
	Dartford Borough Council
	Dover District Council
	Gravesham Borough Council
	Kent County Council
	Maidstone Borough Council
	Medway Council
	Sevenoaks District Council
	Shepway District Council
	Swale Borough Council
	Thanet District Council
	Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
	Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
	Elmbridge Borough Council
	Epsom and Ewell Borough Council
	Guildford Borough Council
	Mole Valley District Council
	Tandridge District Council
	Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
	Runnymede Borough Council
	Spelthorne Borough Council
	Surrey County Council
	Surrey Heath Borough Council
	 East of England
	Breckland District Council
	Broadland District Council
	Great Yarmouth Borough Council
	King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council
	Norfolk County Council
	North Norfolk District Council
	Norwich City Council
	South Norfolk Council
	Babergh District Council
	Forest Heath District Council
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Mid Suffolk District Council
	St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
	Suffolk Coastal District Council
	Suffolk County Council
	Waveney District Council
	Cambridge City Council
	Cambridgeshire County Council
	East Cambridgeshire District Council
	Fenland District Council
	Huntingdonshire District Council
	Peterborough City Council
	South Cambridgeshire District Council
	Basildon District Council
	Braintree District Council
	Brentwood Borough Council
	Castle Point Borough Council
	Chelmsford Borough Council
	Colchester Borough Council
	Epping Forest District Council
	Essex County Council
	Harlow District Council
	Maldon District Council
	Rochford District Council
	Southend on Sea Borough Council
	Tendring District Council
	Thurrock Council
	Uttlesford District Council
	 South West England
	Caradon District Council
	Carick District Council
	Cornwall County Council
	Kerrier District Council
	North Cornwall District Council
	Penwith District Council
	Restormel Borough Council
	Isle of Scilly Council
	Devon County Council
	East Devon District Council
	Exeter City Council
	Mid Devon District Council
	North Devon District Council
	Plymouth City Council
	Bournemouth Borough Council
	Christchurch Borough Council
	Dorset County Council
	East Dorset District Council
	North Dorset District Council
	Purbeck District Council
	West Dorset District Council
	Weymouth and Portland Borough Council
	Mendip District Council
	Sedgemoor District Council
	Somerset County Council
	South Somerset District Council
	Taunton Deane District Council
	West Somerset District Council
	Kennet District Council
	North Wiltshire District Council
	Torbay Council
	South Hams District Council
	Teignbridge District Council
	West Devon Borough Council
	Torridge District Council
	Salisbury District Council
	Borough of Poole
	West Wiltshire District Council
	Wiltshire County Council

INTERREG Programme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans there are for the managing authority of the France (Manche)-England Operational Programme to be designated as a body under European Grouping of Territorial Co-operation provisions.

John Healey: There are no such plans at present.

INTERREG Programme: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what projects are being considered in  (a) Castle Point constituency and  (b) Essex for funding under the (i) INTERREG and (ii) European Social Fund programmes; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested is as follows.
	 INTERREG IVA
	Essex is included as an adjacent area in the France(Channel)-England and Two Seas INTERREG IVA programmes. The Operational Programmes for both programmes were submitted to the European Commission in November 2007 and have not yet been adopted, or approved, by the Commission. No projects have therefore yet been considered for approval.
	 INTERREG IVB
	Essex is included in the North sea and North West Europe INTERREG IVB programmes. Both these programmes have now had a first call for projects resulting in 11 approvals. One of the North West Europe projects—IMCORE—has a Colchester based partner called Coastnet.
	The second call for North sea projects has closed. Of the 30 project applications submitted two have Essex based partners. Essex county council for Haven Gateway is a partner in the Dryport project and Southend on Sea borough council is a partner in the Building with Care project. The second call for North West Europe projects closes on 9 May and we do not yet have information on individual partners.
	 INTERREG IVC
	The first call for INTERREG IVC ended on 15 January 2008. There were over 480 applications and the IVC Secretariat is currently assessing them. We expect to receive project and partner details from the Secretariat during summer 2008.
	 European Social Fund
	For the European Social Fund, two project specifications relating specifically to Essex have been appraised and await award of contract. A further 16 tenders for regional contracts that are likely to include Essex and Castle Point are under negotiation.

INTERREG Programme: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding the Government will be providing in co-payments towards the EU INTERREG  (a) IVA,  (b) IVB and  (c) IVC programmes over the next three years.

John Healey: The Government will not be providing match funding for projects in the new programmes. But we will be contributing towards their technical assistance budgets which are used for funding the programme secretariats. These secretariats deal with the day to day management of the programmes including arranging project applications, project monitoring and providing general advice. The UK contribution for April 2008 to March 2010 will be:
	
		
			  Euro 
			 Interreg IVA 1,593,000 
			 Interreg IVB (including INTERACT) 2,087,782 
			 Interreg IVC 337,053 
			 Total 4,017,835

Local Authorities: Cost Effectiveness

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what procurement advice her Department has given to best value authorities on the application of the Best Value Code of Practice in Work Force Matters;
	(2)  how many times the alternative dispute resolution procedure has been invoked for best value authority contracts;
	(3)  what steps her Department has taken to assess the effect the Best Value Code of Practice in Work Force Matters in best value authority contracts;
	(4)  what steps her Department has taken to monitor  (a) the application of and  (b) compliance with the Best Value Code of Practice in Work Force Matters in best value authority contracts.

John Healey: The code of practice on work force matters in local authority service contracts (ODPM, 2003) is guidance based on the Secretary of State's view that a 'two-tier work force' does not achieve 'best value'. Local authorities should have regard to the code when considering individual contracts.
	The alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedure was developed by the TUC, CBI, the LGA—Local Government Association—and the Employers' Association for Local Government. Use of the ADR is not monitored centrally.
	Communities and Local Government is carrying out a programme of ongoing research that will evaluate the impact of the local government procurement agenda as a whole. A specific strand has been to attempt to isolate the impact of the code of practice. Initial results were published in the 'Evaluation of the Local Government Procurement Agenda—Baseline Survey Report' (ODPM, August 2005). Just over two-thirds of authorities had included work force matters as a standard issue in contracts for services.
	Currently, local authorities are required to certify in their best value performance plans (BVPPs) that individual contracts comply with best value requirements, including the work force requirements in the two-tier code. As part of the package of de-regulatory measures, announced in the Local Government White Paper 2006, the Department signalled the intention to remove the requirement for authorities to prepare BVPPs; provisions to do so were secured in the 'Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007'. We will be consulting on proposed arrangements for monitoring compliance with the code in future.

Local Government

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many parish and town councils there are in England; and what estimate her Department has made of the number which levy a precept on council tax bills in their area.

John Healey: There are approximately 8,900 parish and town councils in England. Details of the number of parish and town councils which levy a precept on council tax bills in their area is not recorded centrally.

Local Government Finance: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ratio between central Government funding and council tax revenue received by the London borough of Enfield was in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 17 September 2007,  Official Report, column 2181W.

Local Government Finance Funding Changes Independent Inquiry

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which recommendations of the Lyons Inquiry into local government finance the Government  (a) has implemented and  (b) plans to implement.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 9 January 2008,  Official Report, column 631W.

Local Government: Electronic Government

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what citizen identification types are included in the Valuebill XML Schema.

John Healey: None.

Local Government: Pensions

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which private contractors have been given admitted body status to the local government pension scheme;
	(2)  how many third sector organisations have been given admitted body status to the local government pension scheme.

John Healey: The information is not held centrally in the form requested.
	The regulations governing the scheme in England and Wales require administering authorities to inform the Secretary of State of all admission agreements which they make. A list of admission bodies which have been notified to the Secretary of State has been deposited in the Library of the House. These lists do not specifically distinguish between contractors, third sector and other bodies.

Mobile Homes: Multiple Occupation

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the number of park homes which are used as houses of multiple occupation.

Iain Wright: A park home cannot be a 'house in multiple occupation' because it is not a building for the purpose of applying one or more of the tests in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the equivalent percentage rise in average business rate bills will be in a local authority area which levies the maximum supplementary business rate.

John Healey: It is not possible to calculate the equivalent percentage increase in average business rate bills in a local authority area which levies the maximum business rate supplement, as it will depend on a number of factors, some of which can not be predicted. These include the level of the non-domestic rating multipliers before and at the time the supplement is levied and whether the property is in receipt of any rate relief. In addition, as announced in "Business rate supplements: a White Paper", all properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or less will not have to pay the supplement, thus excluding the vast majority of business properties in England. Those authorities levying supplements will also be able to decide whether there should be an offset for ratepayers contributing to BIDs.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what restrictions there are on how revenue from supplementary business rates can be spent by local authorities.

John Healey: 'Business rate supplements: a White Paper', published in October 2007, made clear that the power to raise supplements is not intended to provide general purpose revenues. The revenue from business rate supplements will only be available for initiatives that will promote the economic development of an area and which otherwise would not have taken place.

Official Hospitality: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to the public purse was of the visit by the Chinese Ambassador and the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull to Mr. Chu's China Palace in Kingston upon Hull in April 2004 according to records created during the existence of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Parmjit Dhanda: All expenditure on official entertainment in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was made in accordance with the guidance set out in the "Ministerial Code" and with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".

Ordnance Survey

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has  (a) received representations and  (b) commissioned advice on whether separating raw data from value-added products is consistent with Ordnance Survey's new public task definition.

Iain Wright: Since Ministers approved the revised Ordnance Survey Public Task in July 2007 representations have been made specifically on the separation of raw data from value added products. Ordnance Survey continues in discussions with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Office for Public Sector Information in response to recommendations raised by OFT in the report on its study of the Commercial Reuse of Public Information.

Ordnance Survey

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on the effects of applications of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Directive on Ordnance Survey's new public task definition.

Iain Wright: Since Ministers approved the revised Ordnance Survey Public Task in July 2007, representations have been received from one trade association representing a number of private sector commercial organisations who commercially exploit public sector information. These representations included an unsubstantiated claim that the revised Public Task has implications for the applicability of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Directive.

Planning Permission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Infrastructure Planning Commission will consider planning applications for  (a) incinerators,  (b) airports,  (c) motorways,  (d) housing developments and  (e) sewage plants.

John Healey: Under the proposals set out in the Planning Bill, the Infrastructure Planning Commission would consider applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects, which could include motorway, airport, sewage treatment plant, and waste incinerator projects, where they met the specified thresholds. It would not deal with housing developments.

Planning Permission: Prosecutions

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many successful prosecutions for breaches of the Building Control Regulations there have been since 2000.

Iain Wright: Building control bodies initially try to deal with enforcement in an informal manner by seeking to resolve the issues so as to reach a satisfactory conclusion without reverting to formal enforcement through the courts.
	Information on the number of prosecutions (whether or not successful) is not collected centrally. However, a recent survey of building control bodies, carried out by the Building Control Alliance, indicated that in 2006-07, less than 0.1 per cent. of applications resulted in formal enforcement action.
	The survey may be accessed at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/surveybuildingcontrolrpt

Planning Permission: Strip Clubs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning appeals the Planning Inspectorate has considered in relation to lap dancing clubs in the last 36 months.

Iain Wright: The Planning Inspectorate does not capture data to enable identification of planning appeals relating specifically to lap dancing clubs.

Property: Databases

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost to  (a) her Department and  (b) the public purse of meeting requests for private sector organisations for master address lists in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: The Department has created no master address list of its own, so has incurred no costs itself. No estimate of costs to the wider public purse has been made.

Property: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1410W, on property: valuation, how many dwellings are recorded on the Valuation Office Agency's computers as being assigned with an OS value significant code.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1410W.

Property: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1410W, on property: valuation, how many dwellings are recorded on the Valuation Office Agency's computers as being assigned a FC value significant code;.
	(2)  how many dwellings in England are currently recorded by the Valuation Office Agency as having the value significant code of  (a) TQ and  (b) UP.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1410W.

Social Rented Housing: Waiting Lists

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many households in England were on local authority waiting lists for social housing in 2007;
	(2)  what the average period of time a household spent on local authority waiting lists before obtaining social housing was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: For information on the number of households on local authority waiting lists I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 1198-99W.
	Information on the average wait for households on local authority waiting lists is not collected centrally.

Travelling People: Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1903W, on travelling people: council tax, whether traveller camps which occupy land which they do not own or have permission to occupy, and which do not having planning permission for occupation, are valued for council tax or business rates by the Valuation Office Agency.

John Healey: A clearly defined pitch for a caravan which is a person's sole or main residence will be liable for council tax whether the basis for the occupation is legal or not.

Valuation Office: Digital Mapping

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1397W., on digital mapping, what role the Valuation Office Agency has in the development of Digital National Framework.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Valuation Office Agency no longer plays an active role in the development of the Digital National Framework and are correspondence members only.

Valuation: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local billing authorities in England communicate property amendments to the Valuation Office Agency through  (a) the Valuebill interface and  (b) electronic billing authority reports.

John Healey: None, other than by electronic billing authority reports (eBARs).
	Between 1 January and 31 December 2007, 148 local authorities in England submitted eBARs to the Valuation Office Agency.

Valuation: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Valuation Office Agency's targets are for local authority take-up of  (a) the Valuebill interface and  (b) electronic billing authority reports.

John Healey: The Valuation Office Agency encourages all authorities to use these facilities but the decision whether to do so rests with them.

Waste Management: Audit

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account of joint waste authority status will be taken by the Audit Commission in conducting comprehensive area assessments.

John Healey: Comprehensive area assessment (CAA) will assess the prospects for improving priority outcomes in each area. The effectiveness of joint working between local partners to achieve this improvement will be an important part of this assessment, but CAA will not be prescriptive about the particular arrangements for joint working. An adverse judgment under CAA would result if the inspectorates were not satisfied that outcomes will improve. The existence or otherwise of joint arrangements for a particular service would not automatically result in such a judgment being 'marked down'.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the Government has taken to reduce crime related to drunkenness.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 18 February 2008
	The Government take the issue of crime and antisocial behaviour committed by individuals when drunk very seriously. The Government have taken a number of actions in order to combat this, including introducing the Tackling Violent Crime Programme (TVCP) which was launched in November 2004. Additionally, local areas are now required to address alcohol-related issues within their Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) strategies. The Government have produced guidance to assist local areas in producing their strategies, and the Government offices for the regions are coordinating this requirement within their specific region. The Government have also recently published 'A practical guide for dealing with alcohol related problems' which is aimed at local alcohol practitioners and gives advice about the tools and powers available to tackle alcohol related crime.
	The Government are working to improve the way alcohol related offenders are dealt with in custody and in the community. The National Offender Management Service is taking this work forward which includes; the publication of an alcohol pack for offenders under probation supervision, disseminating across the National Probation Service learning points from alcohol best practice projects, as well as work to develop two alcohol treatment programmes for prisons.
	Additionally, the Government have funded four alcohol arrest referral pilots. These schemes aim to offer custody based interventions from a trained worker in order to reduce re-offending. These pilots will be rolled out to 10 new areas, which will ensure that the under 18's will also benefit from these interventions.

Cannabis

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of cannabis users were classed as regular users  (a) in each year since 1996 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The British crime survey (BCS) only collects information about frequent drug use among young people aged 16 to 24 years. Questions on frequency of use in the last year were first asked in the 2002-03 BCS.
	Table 1 provides trend data between the 2002-03 and 2006-07 BCS for the proportion of cannabis users aged 16 to 24 years who reported to using cannabis frequently (more than once a month) in the previous year. The latest figures show that there was a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of 16 to 24-year-old cannabis users who report being a frequent user between the 2002-03 and 2006-07 BCS (from 46.1 per cent. to 37.0 per cent.).
	
		
			  Table 1: Frequent use in the last year among 16 to 24-year-old cannabis users, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			  Percentage 
			   Used more than once a month  Unweighted base 
			 2002-03 46.1 743 
			 2003-04 46.9 1,267 
			 2004-05 41.1 1,348 
			 2005-06 41.2 1,164 
			 2006-07 37.0 1,069 
			  Source: British crime survey (BCS).

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people arrested by officers of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre since establishment have been  (a) charged,  (b) tried and  (c) found guilty; and what the (i) sentence and (ii) earliest date for parole was in each case.

Vernon Coaker: The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is the lead agency for the co-ordination of UK policing response to the threat of child sexual exploitation, particularly within the online or mobile environments. CEOP works to support police, child protection and education agencies locally and internationally to better protect children and young people from this threat.
	Since its launch in April 2006, 207 children have been safeguarded from sexual abuse either directly or indirectly as the result of CEOP activity.
	As of 31 March 2008, in 176 cases involving the arrests of individuals, where CEOP provided operational support to UK police forces and where feedback was received from those police forces, 60 individuals where charged with various offences, 10 were cautioned, 63 cases are ongoing, and in 43, no further action was taken.
	Responsibility for and information pertaining to the investigation, prosecution, trial and post-conviction management of any individual dealt with as a result of information, intelligence or operational support provided by CEOP lies with the relevant police force or criminal justice agency concerned.

Cocaine

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of cocaine powder users were classed as regular users  (a) in each year since 1996 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The British Crime Survey (BCS) only collects information about frequent drug use among young people aged 16 to 24 years. Questions on frequency of use in the last year were first asked in the 2002-03 BCS.
	The following table provides trend data between the 2002-03 and 2006-07 BCS for the proportion of cocaine powder users aged 16 to 24 years who reported to using cocaine frequently (more than once a month) in the previous year. The latest figures show that although there was an increase in the proportion of 16 to 24-year-old cocaine powder users who report being a frequent user between the 2002-03 and 2006-07 BCS (from 18.9 to 25.6) this was not statistically significant as these estimates are based on small samples and subject to large margins of error. Larger differences are required to detect statistically significant changes over time.
	
		
			  Frequent use in the last year among 16 to 24-year-old cocaine powder users, 2002-03 to 2006-07 BCS 
			  Percentage 
			   More than once a month  Unweighted base 
			 2002-03 18.9 123 
			 2003-04 17.2 253 
			 2004-05 14.2 275 
			 2005-06 22.3 321 
			 2006-07 25.6 302

Cocaine

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many 16 to 24-year-olds were reported to have taken any form of cocaine in each year since 1996;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of 16 to 59-year-olds who have used any form of cocaine in each year since 1996.

Vernon Coaker: The British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely provides information about the numbers and proportions of people who have used drugs ever, in the last year and in the last month.
	Tables 1 and 2 provide trends, where available, of the estimated number of 16 to 24-year-olds and 16 to 59-year-olds respectively, who have used any form of cocaine in the last year.
	These estimates are based on small samples and subject to large margins of error, as indicated in the tables.
	Trends in the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds and 16 to 59 year olds who have used any form of cocaine are also included and show an increase in use among both age groups between the 1996 and 2006-07 BCS.
	
		
			  Table 1 Estimates of numbers and prevalence of 16 to 24-year-olds who have used any form of cocaine in the last year. 1996 to 2006-07 BC S 
			   Best estimate  Lower estimate  Higher estimate  % of 16 to 24 year olds  Statistically significant change 1996  Unweighted base 
			 1996 82 49 136 1.4 — 1,420 
			 1998 180 125 257 3.2 * 1,246 
			 2000 304 235 391 5.4 * 1,468 
			 2001-02 289 247 339 5.1 * 3,995 
			 2002-03 300 257 350 5.2 * 4,227 
			 2003-04 318 278 364 5.4 * 5,531 
			 2004-05 312 275 355 5.1 * 6,196 
			 2005-06 370 327 417 5.9 * 5,892 
			 2006-07 375 332 423 6.1 * 5,706 
			  Notes:  1. The values are derived by adding or subtracting the confidence interval around the 2006-07 sample best estimates. Lower and higher estimates are based on 95 per cent. confidence intervals (calculated using a logit transformation where proportions were less than 0.2 or greater than 0.8).  2. The figures are calculated using population estimates provided by the Government Actuary's Department. 
		
	
	Table 1: Estimates of numbers and prevalence of 16 to 59-year-olds who have used any form of cocaine in the last year. 1996 to 2006/07 BCS
	
		
			  Table  2:  Estimates of numbers and prevalence of 16 to  59 -year-olds who have used any form of cocaine in the last year. 1996 to 2006-07 BC S 
			   Best estimate  Lower estimate  Higher estimate  % of 16 to 24 year olds  Statistically significant change 1996  Unweighted base 
			 1996 196 148 259 0.6 - 10,741 
			 1998 382 309 470 1.3 * 9,884 
			 2000 632 547 729 2.0 * 12,771 
			 2001-02 620 551 696 2.0 * 19,973 
			 2002-03 652 588 724 2.1 * 23,357 
			 2003-04 775 705 852 2.5 * 24,197 
			 2004-05 644 585 709 2.0 * 28,206 
			 2005-06 776 712 846 2.4 * 29,631 
			 2006-07 835 767 908 2.6 * 28,975 
			  Notes: 1. The values are derived by adding or subtracting the confidence interval around the 2006-07 sample best estimates. Lower and higher estimates are based on 95 per cent. confidence intervals (calculated using a logit transformation where proportions were less than 0.2 or greater than 0.8). 2. The figures are calculated using population estimates provided by the Government Actuary's Department.

Reoffenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persistent and prolific offenders have been identified in each police force area in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Data from the performance management arrangements for the Prolific and other Priority Offender programme provides the number of such offenders identified through partnership arrangements in each police force area. The data are provided in the following table. The data cover the three years from January 2005 up to December 2007, and are the most recent data available. These figures rely on the accuracy and completeness of the data provided locally by prolific and priority offender schemes.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  Police force area  1 January 2005 to 31 December 2005  1 January 2006 to 31 December 2006  1 January 2007 to 31 December 2007 
			 Avon and Somerset 218 225 228 
			 Bedfordshire 116 118 122 
			 Cambridgeshire 92 107 135 
			 Cheshire 180 185 191 
			 City of London 4 11 15 
			 Cleveland 132 145 144 
			 Cumbria 67 68 69 
			 Derbyshire 355 359 357 
			 Devon and Cornwall 359 334 334 
			 Dorset 52 75 62 
			 Durham 57 58 79 
			 Dyfed Powys 92 81 84 
			 Essex 195 167 194 
			 Gloucestershire 100 104 112 
			 Greater Manchester 737 840 1,004 
			 Gwent 77 81 90 
			 Hampshire 210 258 333 
			 Hertfordshire 228 149 142 
			 Humberside 181 212 234 
			 Kent 306 254 278 
			 Lancashire 413 361 427 
			 Leicestershire 338 341 342 
			 Lincolnshire 125 111 195 
			 Merseyside 412 417 336 
			 Metropolitan police 1,090 1,139 1,185 
			 Norfolk 118 93 112 
			 North Wales 136 100 120 
			 North Yorkshire 55 89 122 
			 Northamptonshire 183 259 265 
			 Northumbria 224 219 241 
			 Nottinghamshire 501 497 634 
			 South Wales 186 195 237 
			 South Yorkshire 240 237 265 
			 Staffordshire 157 261 239 
			 Suffolk 160 170 145 
			 Surrey 138 181 149 
			 Sussex 311 309 350 
			 Thames Valley 327 334 330 
			 Warwickshire 71 78 107 
			 West Mercia 154 117 117 
			 West Midlands 708 758 788 
			 West Yorkshire 283 242 243 
			 Wiltshire 80 78 48

Shares: Sales Methods

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been provided to police forces in England and Wales on dealing with fraud associated with boiler room operations.

Vernon Coaker: The Government have not issued specific guidance to police forces on dealing with boiler room fraud but aim to deliver a multi-agency response to major frauds including boiler-room frauds. Law enforcement agencies, Government Departments and regulators have already worked together on several initiatives and the City of London Police has established Operation Archway, a national intelligence reporting system for boiler room fraud.
	Action against boiler rooms will be strengthened further by the creation of the National Fraud Strategic Authority, which will co-ordinate national counter-fraud efforts. In parallel, the creation of a National Fraud Reporting Centre will boost the ability of law enforcement agencies to take intelligence-led action against complex fraud networks, such as those responsible for boiler rooms.

Shares: Sales Methods

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were  (a) arrested and  (b) convicted for offences relating to fraud by boiler room operations in 2007.

Vernon Coaker: The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group, i.e. robbery, burglary, fraud and forgery etc. From data reported centrally we are not able to identify specific offences of fraud from within the main 'fraud and forgery' offence group.
	Similarly, the data held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the court proceedings database does not contain information about the circumstances behind each case. As a result offences of fraud by boiler room operations cannot be separately identified from other offences under section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006.

Wildlife: Crime

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review the effectiveness of enforcement by police forces of measures against wildlife crime and illegal hunting.

Vernon Coaker: We have no plans at present to review the effectiveness of enforcement by police forces of measures against wildlife crime and illegal hunting.
	It is the role of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to review the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces. As such it would be for the Chief Inspector to decide on such a review.
	The Home Office has recently announced that it will contribute £150,000 per year for three years to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Government officials will be working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the NWCU to monitor the outcomes achieved through this funding.
	The Home Office continues to meet with interested stakeholders and to work closely with the police, through the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to identify what more can be done to ensure the Hunting Act is effectively and appropriately enforced and to improve detection of illegal hunting.
	The Association of Chief Police Officers have conducted a survey of local police forces' response to enforcement of the Hunting Act which will inform best-practice guidance. The Government are also working with ACPO on ways to raise awareness of issues surrounding enforcement of the Hunting Act across the police service, and to communicate the importance of visible enforcement to community policing in rural areas and to the maintenance of public order.
	We are also working closely with the Attorney-General about what more can be done to secure prosecutions where evidence has been presented of Hunting Act offences being committed. The Attorney-General in turn has agreed to raise the issue of the burden of proof in hunting cases with the Director of Public Prosecutions, and to engage with local Crown Prosecution Service leads to better understand and then communicate, the evidence needed to bring forward successful prosecutions.
	26 individuals have now been convicted of offences under the Hunting Act 2004 which does show that the legislation is enforceable when the evidence presents itself.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will answer Question 179094 on the national DNA database tabled on 9 January 2008 by the hon. Member for Cardiff Central; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The question was answered on 7 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 994-96W.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to Question 191801, tabled on 29 February 2008, on test sales for video works.

Vernon Coaker: I replied to the hon. Member on 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 507W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

1 Carlton Gardens

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 99W, on 1 Carlton Gardens, 
	(1)  what charges were made to the right hon. Member for Derby, South in respect of her occupation of the property following cessation of Ministerial office;
	(2)  what level of payment was made by the right hon. Member for Derby, South while occupying the property  (a) as a Minister and  (b) when not holding Ministerial office.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Meg Munn) gave to him on 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 99W. The amount of tax paid is personal information. My right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett) personally paid in full the council tax for the period of her occupation.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's paper referring to critical military gaps in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, as referred to in  The Daily Telegraph of 29 April 2008.

Kim Howells: holding answer 6 May 2008
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office believes that the paper to which James Kirkup referred in  The Daily Telegraph article of 29 April was a draft internal working document. It was not shared with international partners as the article suggested. Given the nature of the document, it would not be appropriate to place it in the Library of the House.

Afghanistan: United Nations

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes to the mandate of the special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan are envisaged following the adoption by the Security Council of a new resolution on the UN mission in Afghanistan; and when this resolution is expected to be adopted.

Kim Howells: The mandate of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Afghanistan, as head of the UN Assistance Mission, is set out in the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. The most recent was UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1806 (2008). This was adopted on 20 March and draws on the previous mandates. UNSCR 1806 can be found at:
	http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/279/31/PDF/N0827931.pdf?OpenElement.

China: Family Planning

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers in his Department and  (c) officials have had with the Government of China since 2006 about the Population and Birth-planning Law 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: We regularly raise our concerns with the Chinese Government about the implementation of China's population and family planning law. The Chinese Government acknowledges that there have been problems with administration of the policy, but insists this would be down to individuals rather than malign intent. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials discussed the One Child Policy during the recent round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing in January. We do not dispute China's right or need to implement family planning policies, but we do believe they should be based on the principles of consent and not coercion. We will continue to encourage the Chinese to meet international human rights standards at every appropriate opportunity, both bilaterally and through the EU.
	A more detailed survey of all the exchanges between UK Ministers and officials with Chinese authorities from 2006 would require a search of files held centrally and at all posts in China, which could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

China: Family Planning

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers in his Department and  (c) officials have had with the Government of China since 2006 about the implementation in Tibet of the Population and Birth-planning Law 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: We have not discussed the implementation of China's population and family planning law with the Chinese Government with specific reference to Tibet. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials did however discuss the One Child Policy during the recent round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing in January. The main theme of the dialogue was ethnic minority rights and included a field trip to Tibet. We do not dispute China's right or need to implement family planning policies but we do believe they should be based on the principles of consent and not coercion. We will continue to encourage the Chinese to meet international human rights standards at every appropriate opportunity, both bilaterally and through the EU.
	A more detailed survey of all the exchanges between UK Ministers and officials with Chinese authorities from 2006 would require a search of files held centrally and at all posts in China, which could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth Scholarships: Finance

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which other Government Departments he consulted prior to his written ministerial statement of 13 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 22-24WS, on FCO scholarships and fellowships, announcing that his Department would phase out its funding for Commonwealth Scholarships from 2009.

Jim Murphy: The changes to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) scholarship schemes are rooted in our 2006 review of the Chevening scholarship programme, on which the FCO consulted widely. My right hon. Friend did not consult other Government Departments before making his statement.

Cuba: USA

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Ministers in his Department have met Caleb McCarry since his appointment as Cuba Transition Co-ordinator for the Bush Administration.

Kim Howells: holding answer 7 May 2008
	 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have not met Caleb McCarry since his appointment as Cuba Transition Co-ordinator in 2005.

Departmental Catering

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken on food hygiene standards in the canteen at Admiralty Building, Whitehall, following the latest inspection by Westminster City Council; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the latest Westminster City Council food hygiene inspection report relating to the canteen (case 05/47821/FOOD); and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Westminster city council last inspected the Old Admiralty Building's 'The Mall Café' on 31 May 2006. Five issues were highlighted in the inspection and the necessary follow up action has been taken. A copy of the inspection report has been placed in the Library of the House.

EU Budget

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much and what proportion of funding the UK contributed to the EU Budget in each of the last three years.

Kitty Ussher: I have been asked to reply.
	Details of member states contributions to the EC budget over the period 2004 to 2006, the last three years for which outturn data are currently available, can be found in annex 4 (pages 59-61) of the European Commission's "EU budget 2006 Financial Report" which was published in September 2007. This report can be found at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/budget/publications/fin_reports_en.htm

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter, dated 26 March 2008, transferred from the Prime Minister, about meeting the Dalai Lama.

Kim Howells: holding answer 6 May 2008
	My noble Friend Lord Malloch-Brown, replied to the hon. Member on 1 May.

Morocco: Political Prisoners

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the hunger strike by 60 Sahrawi political prisoners in Moroccan jails; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government are aware of a number of Sahrawi prisoners in Moroccan jails currently on hunger strike. I understand they are calling for improvements in prison conditions and to be treated as political prisoners.
	The UK has worked hard to help Morocco improve prison conditions in recent years. In 2005-07, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded a prison management project aimed at raising awareness of prisoners' rights and improving working practices.
	As part of this, our embassy in Rabat organised regional prison conferences in May 2006 and April 2007, aimed at tackling radicalisation, preventing recruitment, promoting rehabilitation and promoting the rule of law and human rights in Islamic countries' prisons.
	We continue to engage with the Moroccan Government at various levels to ensure the rule of law is upheld and the rights of prisoners are respected.

Overseas Students: Scholarships

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the differences in performance of the Chevening, Commonwealth and Marshall scholarship programmes.

Jim Murphy: The purpose of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) scholarship schemes is to build personal relationships with international leaders of the future. Following a recent review of all scholarship funding, in accordance with the FCO's global strategy and priorities, it was concluded that the Chevening and Marshall scholarship schemes achieved this purpose more effectively than the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan.

Pakistan: Terrorism

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals have been detained in Pakistan on suspicion of terrorist offences since 2000.

Kim Howells: holding answer 6 May 2008
	 We are aware of six cases of British or dual British/Pakistani nationals having been detained on suspicion of terrorist offences in Pakistan since 2000.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates consular officials have requested access to Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison since his abduction from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea; how many such requests have been  (a) granted and  (b) refused; what reasons have been given for such refusals; and what representations have been made to the government of Equatorial Guinea in consequence.

Kim Howells: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 Since Simon Mann's detention in Equatorial Guinea we have sought consular access twice. Access was given on the first occasion, but refused on the second. Despite strong representations on our part the Equatorial Guinea authorities told us that access could not be given because of an ongoing police investigation. We have expressed our concern to the Equatorial Guinea authorities and are urgently seeking another consular visit.

Somaliland: Politics and Government

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on claims of independence by Somaliland.

Jim Murphy: The UK does not recognise Somaliland as an independent state. The Government's policy on Somaliland's claims of independence is that the Somaliland authorities should negotiate with the Transitional Federal government to determine their future relationship.

Somaliland: Politics and Government

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on discussions between the Pentagon and the US State Department on the recognition of Somaliland as an independent state.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has received no reports of discussions between the Pentagon and the US State Department on the recognition of Somaliland as an independent state.

Somaliland: Shipping

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the likely effect on the safety of shipping using the Gulf of Aden and the port of Berbera were Somaliland to be recognised as an independent state.

Jim Murphy: No assessment has been made of the effect of Somaliland being recognised as independent on the safety of shipping using the Gulf of Aden and port of Berbera.
	The incidents of piracy and risks to shipping in the region are a result of insecurity in parts of Somalia and limited maritime security capacity provided by the governing authorities. Addressing these issues will have the greatest impact on improving the safety of shipping.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many troops each country has committed to the UNAMID force.

Kim Howells: The UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), with the African Union (AU), is tasked with generating troops for the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The DPKO has not yet confirmed the number of troops from each country that will deploy to UNAMID.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what countries have made provisional commitments to supply helicopters to UNAMID.

Kim Howells: Ethiopia is contributing four light tactical helicopters to the UN-African Union peacekeeping Mission in Darfur. We understand that other countries have previously offered helicopters which lacked suitable capabilities for the mission, and there are no current provisional commitments. We continue to work closely with the UN to explore all possible options for helicopter provision.

Zimbabwe: Asylum

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the effects of recent political events in Zimbabwe on refugee flows from the country; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We are not aware of further widespread emigration since the recent elections in Zimbabwe. However, post-election violence has created hundreds of internally displaced persons, mainly in rural areas, with individuals seeking refuge with family in the cities or church groups. The UK is already providing support to the people of Zimbabwe, £49 million in 2007, targeting those most in need as a result of the economic mismanagement of the country.

Zimbabwe: China

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Chinese authorities on arms sales to Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We have lobbied the Chinese Government in Beijing not to supply arms to Zimbabwe on four occasions since a Chinese ship attempted to unload in Durban. The EU already has in place a ban on the sales of arms to Zimbabwe. We support a moratorium on arms sales until there is a return to democracy and good governance. We raised this with the support of other states in the UN Security Council.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether an estimate has been made of the numbers killed and injured in Zimbabwe as a result of politically-motivated violence since the 29 March election; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Since election day, at least 500 people have been injured, 120 hospitalised and two killed as a consequence of state-sponsored violence. Many have suffered torture. In addition, at least 7,000 people have been internally displaced by the violence.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Actis

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the date was of the Actis business plan on which KPMG based its valuation update of 31 March 2004.

Douglas Alexander: KPMG based its valuation update on the Actis business plan of 19 March 2004.

Actis

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of the Actis business plan of 19 March 2004, including the detailed breakdown of Actis' financial forecasts.

Douglas Alexander: The CDC/Actis Umbrella agreement has already been placed in the Library of the House of Commons. This document includes the Actis business plan of 1 April 2004, which is not materially different from that of the 19 March 2004. It includes the detailed breakdown of Actis' financial forecasts.

Food: Prices

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received on rising food prices internationally, with particular reference to staples such as rice; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Last month, the World Food Programme (WFP) launched an appeal for an additional $500 million to meet the increased costs of this year's programmes—the cost of rice has now risen to over $1,000 a tonne.
	The UK Government are very concerned about the effect on developing countries, where the poorest can spend as much as 90 per cent. of their income on food. There are already 850 million people who don't get enough to eat, and as prices rise these numbers will increase. That is why the Government announced a £455 million aid package to provide assistance to those hardest hit and has taken the lead by calling for the international community to urgently develop a co-ordinated strategy to tackle this critical problem.

Kosovo: Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department has allocated to Kosovo for each of the next three financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) currently plans to spend £5 million in Kosovo in financial years 2008-09 and 2009-10, and £4 million in 2010-11. Together with funding from the Conflict Prevention Pool (this is managed jointly by DFID, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office), the UK Government are currently expecting to spend £23 million bilateral aid in total in Kosovo over the next three years.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) allowances,  (b) travel costs and  (c) accommodation costs have been provided to the staff seconded from his Department to support the work of (i) James Wolfensohn and (ii) Tony Blair in their roles as Quartet Representatives; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Quartet Representative's staff, including Department for International Development (DFID) secondees, draw upon the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) fund for business related allowance and travel costs. It is a matter for UNDP to determine whether to publish details of costs.
	DFID seconded one staff member to the Wolfensohn team and one to the Blair team. DFID has paid £75,080 directly to its secondees for accommodation, travel and expenses. We cannot provide greater detail of this expenditure for matters of personal privacy. All costs are checked to ensure they were essential to fulfilling the individual's duties as a secondee to the Office of the Quartet Special Representative.

Rice: Prices

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the rising cost of rice on the poorest developing countries.

Douglas Alexander: The UK Government are very concerned about the effect of rising food prices, including rice, on developing countries, where the poorest can spend as much as 90 per cent. of their income on food. Rice prices are now over $1,000 a tonne, in part due to additional demand as some governments seek to replenish strategic food reserves.
	There are already 850 million people who don't get enough to eat, and as prices rise these numbers will increase. That is why the UK Government have announced a £455 million aid package to provide assistance to those hardest hit and taken the lead by calling for the international community to urgently develop a co-ordinated strategy to tackle this critical problem.

Sri Lanka: Overseas Aid

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on aid for Sri Lanka in each year since 1997; and to what Sri Lankan  (a) governmental body,  (b) non-governmental organisations and  (b) inter-governmental organisations this funding was given.

Shahid Malik: Between 1997-2007, the Department for International Development's (DFID) total bilateral programme aid to Sri Lanka was £71.4 million. This includes project aid, technical assistance, humanitarian aid, debt relief and Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) funds. DFID's bilateral programme to Sri Lanka ended in March 2007. DFID now works with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to provide peace building support to Sri Lanka by pooling funds through the Conflict Prevention Pool (CPP). DFID's 2007-08 CPP contributions stand at £1.5 million. The breakdown of spend per year 1997-2007 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  DFID bilateral spend in Sri Lanka between 1997 and 2007 
			  £ million 
			   DFID spend on Sri Lanka 
			 1997-98 6.6 
			 1998-99 7.9 
			 1999-2000 7.8 
			 2000-01 7.3 
			 2001-02 4.7 
			 2002-03 5.7 
			 2003-04 8.1 
			 2004-05 6.6 
			 2005-06 10.8 
			 2006-07 5.9 
			 End of DFID bilateral programme  
			 Total 71.4 
		
	
	 Governmental  D epartments
	DFID does not provide (and has not provided) Direct Budget Support to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). Support to the Government was principally through debt relief during 1998-2000 and again in 2005-07. In spring 2007 the GoSL was unable to meet the criteria required for debt relief due to its violation of human rights and debt relief was suspended. DFID has provided some technical assistance to the Government through, for example, the GoSL/UNICEF Joint Strategy for Internally Displaced Peoples, the Government's education programme via the World Bank Education Trust Fund, and provision of training for the Sri Lankan police force.
	Between 1997 and 2007, DFID also supported the following organisations:
	 Non-governmental organisations
	Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children Fund UK, Oxfam, Islamic Relief, Centre for Poverty Analysis, ZOA Refugee Care, Mercy Corps, RedR, International Health Partners, Halo Trust, Christian Aid.
	 Inter-governmental organisations/multilaterals
	UNICEF, World Bank, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), Commonwealth Scholarship Fellow Plan, Asian Development Bank (ADB).

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Shares: Sales Methods

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  which agencies of the Government are taking steps to counter the risk of illegal share sale boiler room operations; what mechanisms are in place to ensure inter-agency liaison and information-sharing; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps the Government plans to take against illegal share sale boiler room operations;
	(3)  what recent representations he has received on illegal share sale boiler room operations;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of losses to private individuals from illegal share sale boiler room operations;
	(5)  whether he plans to issue guidance on countering illegal share sale boiler room operations;
	(6)  what steps he has taken to raise public awareness of the activities of illegal share sale boiler room operations.

Kitty Ussher: I have been asked to reply.
	The overall position is that the Government are delivering a multi-agency response to the threat posed by so-called boiler room frauds. These typically involve the use of high-pressure sales techniques by groups operating abroad to sell worthless or non-existent investments.
	There has been a coordinated approach as law enforcement agencies, Government Departments and regulators have worked together on several initiatives. These have included:
	1. Strengthening prevention through greater education and advice to the public, with recent campaigns delivered by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the city of London police;
	2. A major enforcement-led initiative to target the key organisers of boiler room networks. This involved significant joint working between UK enforcement agencies and partners overseas;
	3. Creating a more hostile environment for boiler room operations based in other EU member states by reinforcing the European framework for regulating the provision of investment advice.
	In the future, action against boiler rooms will be strengthened further by the creation of the National Fraud Strategic Authority, which will have an explicit mandate to lead and coordinate national counter-fraud efforts, to ensure maximum impact against serious threats of fraud.
	In parallel, the creation of a national fraud reporting centre will boost the ability of law enforcement agencies to take intelligence-led action against complex fraud networks, such as those responsible for boiler rooms.
	The number of representations received from time to time by the various departments and agencies involved is low. These occasional representations are typically on behalf of individual constituents who have fallen victim to boiler room frauds.
	No estimate of the losses incurred by consumers is available. However, a number of other reports seek to describe and quantify the problem. For example, a report published by the Office of Fair Trading in December 2006 on 'Research on impact of mass marketed scams' discussed the nature and size of the problem of high-risk investment scams. That category covered, but was not confined to, what is usually understood by "boiler room" frauds. The FSA published the results of a study of boiler room victims who had contacted their consumer centre in June 2006. Any estimate of the extent or cost of the problem is affected by the reluctance of some people to report that they have been the victim of a boiler room fraud.
	Prevention is an important part of any strategy to reduce the impact of boiler room frauds. That requires effective law enforcement action, and action to raise consumer awareness of the existence and nature of these frauds. Accordingly a number of agencies issue guidance and raise awareness about boiler room frauds. These include the FSA, the Home Office, the Metropolitan and city of London police forces, and the OFT. The FSA for example has recently engaged with radio features and news programmes, television, regional and local radio, and various written media. In addition following FSA agreement with registrars existing shareholders will receive warnings about the threat of boiler rooms.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Immigration

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the effect of immigration on the availability of training opportunities and apprenticeships to British workers.

Bill Rammell: The Government are committed to up-skilling British workers to provide them with the skills required in a competitive labour market. Migrant workers from outside the European Union, not ordinarily resident in the UK for at least three years, are not eligible to Government funded training places such as apprenticeships. Apprenticeship starts have increased from 65,000 in 1996/97 to 180,000 in 2006/07. They are projected to grow to almost 210,000 by 2010/11. By 2013, we will ensure that an apprenticeship is available to all qualified young people. Train to Gain has engaged over 77,000 employers with more then 363,000 workers starting learning programmes. We have ambitious plans to expand Train to Gain with increased funding from around £520 million this year to over £1 billion in 2010.

Civil Service Agencies

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will list each of his Department's  (a) agencies and  (b) non-departmental public bodies, setting out in each case their (i) function, (ii) latest estimated annual running costs and (iii) number of staff; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies of my Department are listed in the following table. This provides the details sought in your question.
	
		
			  Schedule of the non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies—April 2008 
			   Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)  Student Loans Company (SLC)  Office for Fair Access (OFFA)  Learning and Skills Council (LSC)  Commission for Employment and Skills (CES) 
			 Type of body NDPB NDPB NDPB NDPB Executive NDPB and company limited by guarantee 
			 Approximate FTEs (full-time equivalents) 240 1,280 3 (1) 3,630 85 
			  Budget  (£ million)  
			 2008-09 7,466.7 82.3 0.5 11,589 (2)69.7 
			 2009-10 7,706.3 74.7 0.49 12,017 (2)68.1 
			 2010-11 8,061.0 77.1 0.48 12,599 (2)67.9 
			 Key functions Distribute public money to HEIs To provide financial services to HEIs and students throughout the UK To promote and safeguard fair access to HE for under-represented groups Funding and commissioning post-16 learning (up to but not including HE) in England Assess progress towards 2020 Leitch objective 
			  Promote high quality education and research To administer the collection of repayments   Work effectively across the four UK nations to support the world class skills agenda 
			  Ensure accountability and promote good practiceAdvise Ministers and monitor the contribution of the employment and skills system 
			  Advise on the integration of employment and skills related services 
			  Manage the performance of the Sector Skills Councils 
			 (1) Establishment figure. (2) DIUS funding. 
		
	
	
		
			   New FE sector-owned improvement body  National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML)  UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO)  Research Councils ( RC s)  Technology Strategy Board (TSB) 
			 Type of body tbc Executive agency Executive agency and trading fund NDPB NDPB 
			 Approximate FTEs (full-time equivalents) 120 51 959 (2)9,909 75 
			  Budget  (£ million)  
			 2008-09 (1)140-150 throughout the period 4.3 57.8 3,111.8 180 
			 2009-10 (1)— 5.2 59.9 3,239.1 243 
			 2010-11 (1)— 5.3 60.1 3,395.6 253 
			 Key functions Strategic commissioning body to support FE organisational development Responsibility for the UK's Weights and Measures framework Responsibility for the UK's Intellectual Property framework The Research Councils aim to deliver a world-class research base and through this create a higher level of economic impact and a better quality of life for people in the UK. The integration of three key outputs is vital to achieving this objective: skilled people, knowledge and innovation Managing programmes to support technological innovation for DIUS 
			  To improve standards of teaching and learning for the benefit of learners, employers and the wider community Provision of statutory and commercial metrology services Responsibility for the UK engagement on IP issues   
			 (2)Figure from 2006-07 reports and includes institute/scientific and technical staff. 
		
	
	
		
			   Design Council  National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts(NESTA)( 1)  National Physical Laboratory 
			 Type of body NDPB NDPB Government owned contractor operated agency 
			 Approximate FTEs (full-time equivalents) 65 95 575 
			  Budget (£ million)
			 2008-09 6.035 38 58 
			 2009-10 6.035 38 59 
			 2010-11 6.035 38 47 
			 Key functions Strengthen and support the UK economy and society by inspiring and enabling the best use of design To support and promote talent, innovation and creativity in the fields of science, technology and the arts NPL is the UK's National Measurement Institute and is a centre of excellence in developing and applying accurate measurement standards, science and technology 
			DIUS provides NPL with guaranteed funding to maintain and disseminate current measurement standards and to perform research into new standards, techniques and instrumentation that will support future UK needs and stimulate innovation 
			NPL also represents the UK in the international measurement arena 
			 (1)NESTA is funded by an endowment from the National Lottery rather than grant-in-aid.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of questions tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day have been answered on the day named in the current Session.

David Lammy: Since the beginning of the 2007-08 Session and up to 30 April 2008, the Department has received a total of 1,272 PQs—parliamentary questions—153 named day and 1,119 ordinary written PQs. The manual check of all named day PQs carried out to monitor the timeliness of replies for the months of November 2007 to April 2008 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Total named day PQs received (Number)  Total named day PQs answered on time (Percentage) 
			 November 2007 46 37 
			 December 2007 23 35 
			 January 2008 16 6 
			 February 2008 17 35 
			 March 2008 27 11 
			 April 2008 15 80

Mature Students: Finance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Government has taken to increase support available to mature students since 1997.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 7 May 2008
	Before 2006, loans were limited to students aged under 55, or under 50 for students not intending to enter employment upon graduating. During the passage of the Higher Education Act, concerns were raised about the upper age limits: the Government set up a working group which recommended that there should be no age limit applied to the fee loan when this was introduced in 2006, and a review of the existing age limits on maintenance loans with the intention of increasing this to match the state pension age for the 2006-07 academic year. Consequently, mature students are generally eligible for the same student support as other students, though maintenance loans are available only to those aged under 60. In 2006-07 the age limit for applying for a student loan was raised to 60 years of age and the additional requirement for the student to enter into an agreement to work after their studies was removed.
	Students over 25 years of age ('mature students') are treated as independent, and are assessed on their own income (and the income of their spouse or partner where applicable) and not on the income of their parents. For full-time students, fee loans of up to £3,070 (£3,145 in 2008-09) ensure that no one has to pay their fees upfront students under the age of 60 are eligible for maintenance loans of up to £6,315 (£6,475 in 2008-09)(1). Means-tested grants of up to £2,765 (£2,835 in 2008-09) are available to new students. From 2008-09, we are increasing the income thresholds for the means tested maintenance grant so many more full-time students, including mature students, will receive grant support. This will mean that one third of all eligible students in England entering higher education in the academic year 2008-09 are expected to be entitled to a full non-repayable grant worth £2,835 and another one third are expected to be entitled to a partial grant.
	(1) This is the maximum amount available to students studying in London. Students studying elsewhere can receive up to £4,510 (£4,625 in 2008-09)
	They can also access targeted support including the adult dependants grant, parents learning allowance, childcare grant and disabled students allowance. students may also qualify for a bursary from their higher education institution. Students may also apply for support from the access to learning fund, a university-administered fund for students experiencing financial hardship.
	Student parents are eligible to receive child tax credit from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Mature students who do not qualify for undergraduate student support may be eligible for a career development loan which has an element of subsidy from public funds.

Students: Loans

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills who took the decision to link the interest rate on student loans to the retail price index; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Parliament determined the interest rate to be paid on student loans. The principle is that borrowers should repay the same amount, in real terms, as they borrowed. To achieve this, the rate of interest is the retail price index (RPI), although the method for determining the rate of interest varies depending on the type of loan.
	Older 'mortgage style' loans are credit agreements under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The interest rate is determined in accordance with the Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1998 which prescribe the rate of interest to be equal to the RPI so long as that index is published.
	Income contingent repayment loans are 'low interest loans' exempt under section 16(5) (b) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Interest is calculated in accordance with the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2007, as amended, and is the lower of the rate which the Secretary of State determines is appropriate to maintain the real value of the loans (RPI), or 1 per cent. above the highest of the base rates published by the banks listed in Regulation 4 of the Consumer Credit (Exempt Agreements) Order 1989. Accordingly, there is potential for the interest rates for the two types of loans to differ but, to date, the RPI rate has consistently applied since 1990 to 'mortgage style' loans and since 1998 to income contingent loans.

Students: Per Capita Costs

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average expenditure from the public purse was per student on  (a) higher education and  (b) training and skills in each parliamentary constituency in the North West in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: Expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council, HEFCE—the Higher Education Funding Council for England—and the Student Loans Company is not collected by my Department at the level of detail requested. We will however, work with HEFCE and the Student Loans Company to try to gain a detailed break down of the higher education expenditure and will write to the hon. Member with further relevant detail.
	
		
			  Funding per FTE and schools learners at age bands 16-18  and 19+ by local authority— period 2003/04 to 2007/08 
			   2007/08 
			   16-18  19+ 
			   Further Education  Schools  Further Education 
			   FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2)  SSF learner numbers ( 3)  Funding per SSF learner ( 4)  FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2) 
			 Cheshire 9,041 4,627 6,174 4,529 4,885 3,139 
			 Warrington 2,790 4,190 1,323 4,764 1,888 2,078 
			 Cumbria 4,598 4,265 4,881 4,719 2,841 3,426 
			 Bolton 2,570 4,276 1607 4,477 1,751 2,868 
			 Bury 5,332 4,408 0 0 1,092 3,494 
			 Manchester 9,768 4,505 999 4,580 8,382 3,393 
			 Oldham 4,470 4,374 874 4,558 1,642 3,224 
			 Rochdale 2,913 4,147 546 4,878 1,333 3,119 
			 Salford 5,116 4,201 80 4,594 2,461 3,106 
			 Stockport 7,534 4,294 0 0 3,024 2,623 
			 Tameside 4,162 4,279 315 4,412 2,007 2,896 
			 Trafford 2,739 4,205 1,884 4,727 2,366 3,192 
			 Wigan 6,187 4,195 501 4,742 1,871 3,590 
			 Halton 2,383 4,431 288 4,750 707 4,523 
			 Knowsley 2,528 4,334 359 4,830 1,837 3,553 
			 Liverpool 3,567 4,042 5240 4,843 4,776 3,440 
			 Sefton 5,769 4,416 2163 4,795 2,473 2,994 
			 St. Helens 3,956 4,309 941 4,739 2,693 2,968 
			 Wirral 4,082 4,082 3766 4,623 2,622 2,757 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4,210 4,315 305 4,631 1,881 3,327 
			 Blackpool 6,408 4,499 129 4,796 2,035 3,596 
			 Lancashire 15,219 4,368 4,291 4,708 7,113 3,412 
		
	
	
		
			   2006/07 
			   16-18  19+ 
			   Further Education  Schools  Further Education 
			   FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2)  SSF learner numbers ( 3)  Funding per SSF learner ( 4)  FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2) 
			 Cheshire 8,246 4,520 6,192 4,338 5,500 2,812 
			 Warrington 2,475 4,177 1,345 4,520 1,633 2,965 
			 Cumbria 4,658 4,018 4,800 4,601 3,118 3,207 
			 Bolton 2,392 4,048 1743 4,355 1,786 2,961 
			 Bury 5,129 4,209 0 0 1,162 3,202 
			 Manchester 9,006 4,352 937 4,445 9,374 3,186 
			 Oldham 4,185 4,184 869 4,363 1,619 3,216 
			 Rochdale 2,749 3,914 639 4,708 1,414 2,996 
			 Salford 4,629 4,023 40 4,381 2,421 2,989 
			 Stockport 6,865 4,157 0 0 2,695 2,632 
			 Tameside 4,082 4,128 335 4,293 2,206 2,702 
			 Trafford 2,671 4,107 1,829 4,485 2,535 3,081 
			 Wigan 5,998 4,046 516 4,720 1,879 3,265 
			 Halton 2,524 4,233 272 4,304 1,007 3,432 
			 Knowsley 2,354 4,194 355 4,376 2,491 2,828 
			 Liverpool 3,334 3,852 4986 4,747 6,012 2,976 
			 Sefton 5,341 4,196 2106 4,646 2,725 2,831 
			 St. Helens 3,886 4,119 923 4,595 3,144 2,729 
			 Wirral 2,913 3,936 3614 4,440 2,725 2,583 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4,238 4,147 334 4,137 2,065 3,383 
			 Blackpool 5,774 4,358 126 4,707 2,300 3,207 
			 Lancashire 14,693 4,191 4,529 4,572 9,667 3,138 
		
	
	
		
			   2005/06 
			   16-18  19+ 
			   Further Education  Schools  Further Education 
			   FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2)  SSF learner numbers ( 3)  Funding per SSF learner ( 4)  FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2) 
			 Cheshire 7,920 4,357 6,194 4,186 6,267 2,747 
			 Warrington 2,355 3,989 1,345 4,209 1,770 2,978 
			 Cumbria 4,508 3,691 4,800 4,465 4,252 2,762 
			 Bolton 2,351 3,813 1743 4,278 2,370 2,486 
			 Bury 4,826 4,012 0 0 1,692 2,471 
			 Manchester 8,382 4,219 946 4,238 11,212 2,962 
			 Oldham 3,935 4,066 875 4,120 1,898 2,946 
			 Rochdale 2,752 3,754 740 3,998 1,682 2,730 
			 Salford 4,356 3,916 0 0 2,633 2,864 
			 Stockport 6,663 4,010 0 0 3,088 2,586 
			 Tameside 3,903 4,006 335 4,174 2,632 2,511 
			 Trafford 2,554 3,831 1,830 4,294 2,940 2,934 
			 Wigan 5,646 3,918 516 4,601 2,320 2,955 
			 Halton 2,471 4,108 272 4,275 1,195 3,282 
			 Knowsley 2,254 4,043 355 4,200 2,483 3,033 
			 Liverpool 3,211 3,729 5063 4,624 7,012 2,813 
			 Sefton 5,045 4,021 2106 4,575 3,061 2,731 
			 St. Helens 3,670 3,995 931 4,518 3,586 2,614 
			 Wirral 2,703 3,912 3627 4,223 3,150 2,542 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4,198 3,995 334 4,097 2,782 2,667 
			 Blackpool 5,097 4,296 128 4,619 2,783 3,001 
			 Lancashire 14,105 3,966 4,529 4,460 11,469 2,934 
		
	
	
		
			   2004/05 
			   16-18  19+ 
			   Further Education  Schools  Further Education 
			   FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2)  SSF learner numbers ( 3)  Funding per SSF learner ( 4)  FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2) 
			 Cheshire 7,510 4,097 6,318 3,999 7,051 2,628 
			 Warrington 2,208 3,787 1,304 3,992 1,920 2,887 
			 Cumbria 4,250 9,539 4,641 4,359 4,782 2,613 
			 Bolton 2,190 3,621 1678 3,990 2,770 2,325 
			 Bury 4,713 3,843 0 0 2,011 2,153 
			 Manchester 7,829 4,105 987 4,048 12,237 2,812 
			 Oldham 3,843 3,917 835 3,856 2,083 2,797 
			 Rochdale 2,641 3,384 691 4,465 2,031 2,428 
			 Salford 3,966 3,643 0 0 2,845 2,798 
			 Stockport 6,873 3,788 0 0 3,609 2,304 
			 Tameside 3,867 3,855 344 3,988 3,112 2,192 
			 Trafford 2,554 3,701 1,766 4,198 3,363 2,660 
			 Wigan 5,719 3,650 520 4,036 2,513 2,863 
			 Halton 2,494 3,852 264 4,107 1,387 2,913 
			 Knowsley 1,989 3,980 379 4,317 2,454 3,041 
			 Liverpool 3,225 3,551 4992 4,364 7,253 2,695 
			 Sefton 4,952 3,800 2094 4,525 3,400 2,599 
			 St. Helens 3,463 3,864 1013 4,198 3,744 2,538 
			 Wirral 2,579 3,854 3563 4,020 3,339 2,506 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4,218 3,777 343 4,158 3,252 2,397 
			 Blackpool 4,744 4,001 154 4,233 3,375 2,604 
			 Lancashire 13,601 3,809 4,590 4,241 11,640 3,030 
		
	
	
		
			   2003/04 
			   16-18  19+ 
			   Further Education  Schools  Further Education 
			   FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2)  SSF learner numbers ( 3)  Funding per SSF learner ( 4)  FTE numbers ( 1)  Funding per FTE ( 2) 
			 Cheshire 7,393 3,775 6r224 3,794 6,977 2,537 
			 Warrington 2,081 3,653 1,368 3,738 2,022 2,597 
			 Cumbria 4,095 3,428 4,525 4,024 4,808 2,617 
			 Bolton 2,133 3,516 1652 3,666 2,854 2,144 
			 Bury 4,709 3,343 0 0 2,138 2,269 
			 Manchester 7,771 3,564 966 3,968 13,122 2,530 
			 Oldham 3,817 3,515 835 3,670 2,367 2,501 
			 Rochdale 2,417 3,140 666 4,389 2,224 2,178 
			 Salford 3,663 3,476 0 0 3,076 2,473 
			 Stockport 6,954 3,457 0 0 3,675 2,276 
			 Tameside 3,864 3,581 299 3,879 3,156 2,080 
			 Trafford 2,747 3,394 1,697 3,939 3,423 2,544 
			 Wigan 5,767 3,411 538 3,823 2,656 2,593 
			 Halton 2,470 3,042 246 3,986 1,874 2,455 
			 Knowsley 1,933 3,657 351 3,991 2,327 2,899 
			 Liverpool 3,190 3,102 4748 4,137 7,387 2,533 
			 Sefton 4,708 3,532 2180 4,091 4,026 2,337 
			 St. Helens 3,455 3,624 1017 4,029 4,072 2,299 
			 Wirral 2,633 3,473 3506 3,785 3,670 2,212 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4,261 3,520 275 3,797 3,234 2,301 
			 Blackpool 4,290 3,553 156 3,662 3,614 2,480 
			 Lancashire 13,334 3,521 4,279 3,934 12,746 2,657 
			 (1) A full-time equivalent learner is defined as the total guided learning hours divided by 450 (maximum of one FTE per learner). (2) The funding allocated per FTE to the colleges and FE providers located in the local authority (excluding additional learning support). (3) School sixth form learner numbers (these are predominantly full-time learners). (4) Funding allocated per learner (including pensions funding, but excluding the block LA SEN allocation).  Note: In FE, additional learning support was not allocated by age band and therefore it is not possible to split between 16-18 and 19+ (this is changing in 2008/09). All above figures are based on the allocations made to the schools, colleges and other providers located in that LA area. The learners recruited may not be resident in the same LA area.

UK Commission for Employment and Skills: Public Appointments

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether Sector Skills Council board members or officers are able to serve on the board of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

David Lammy: Sector skills council board members are able to serve on the board of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. Sector skills council board members were also able to serve on the board of the former Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA). Many of the functions of the SSDA transferred to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills from 1 April 2008.

Vocational Training: Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what vocational training and courses are available to provide the skills needed for the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors; and whether there are plans further to establish such courses.

David Lammy: The Government are committed to developing a sustainable, innovative and productive economy that delivers a high level of employment, and a just society that promotes social inclusion, sustainable communities and personal well-being.
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for the commissioning and funding of post-16 education and training up to (but not including) higher education. Information on the number and type of courses is an operational matter for the LSC and I have asked Mark Haysom, the LSC chief executive, to write to the hon. Gentleman with further information. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 8 May 2008:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked:
	What vocational training and course are available to provide the skills needed for the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors; and whether there are plans further to establish such courses.
	The LSC holds data on vocational learning in England that is funded through the public purse. Through Colleges of Further Education and other training providers we support business and individuals to acquire the skills that they need to achieve personal and organisation aims.
	However, the actual content of qualifications is largely decided by the Sector Skills Councils, who represent employers in different sectors, and Awarding Bodies who develop qualifications to meet market need. There are a range of Sector Skills Councils with responsibility for occupations that require skills in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and as such no one Sector Skills Council is accountable specifically for this area of skill. The SSCs with most interest in renewables and energy efficiency include Construction Skills, Energy and Utility Skills, Built Environment (Summit Skills), property and facilities (Asset Skills), energy production and polymers (Cogent) and a range of manufacturing SSCs. Combined, these sectors account for a significant proportion of funded provision in England.
	The SSCs are already supporting changes to provision, and courses are already being updated in line with the newest developments for example the addition of condensing boilers into standard heating and plumbing provision. Within the Energy and Utility Skills Sector Skills Council footprint there are 342 learning aims available to the sector, which represent 287 different qualifications. Within 2006/2007 there were a total of 11,781 individuals who enrolled on these qualifications which shows an increase of 17% on the previous year. In addition to these qualifications there are four apprenticeship frameworks specifically developed for the sector. The SSC will work with Awarding Bodies to ensure that the latest skills are taught within these programmes.
	The courses available in the future will be largely developed in response to the requirements set out by Sector Skills Councils. Each SSC is currently producing a Sector Qualification Strategy (SQS) covering all skills and qualifications required by their sector, and this must be fully implemented by 2010 at the latest, supported by appropriate National Occupational Standards and robust Labour Market Intelligence. The SQS will set out the need for accredited qualifications and other learning provision in each sector, as part of the SQS, each SSC will produce an action plan with more detail about qualifications which they view as no longer fit for purpose or supported by employers (and which therefore should be removed) and those qualifications which need to be reformed or where new qualifications need to be developed. This process will provide the mechanism for updating skills in line with new technology.
	In England, from August 2009 the LSC will align public funding with those qualifications highlighted in SQS and Action Plans which LSC identify as a priority for public funding (mediated by LSC and government targets and priorities). Where the LSC deems a qualification as not fit for purpose, the qualification will be made ineligible for continued public funding. This will ensure that up to date qualifications receive funding and out of date skills are no longer supported.

TREASURY

Bingo

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government on the impact of bingo club closures; and what the outcome was of those discussions.

Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Communities and Local Government about a range of issues.

Excise Duties: Fuels

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the revenue to the Exchequer which will accrue from taxation of petrol and diesel in 2008-09 if fuel prices remain at their current level; and what forecast he made for such revenues for 2008-09 in Budget 2008;
	(2)  what assumption was made in Budget 2008 about the price of a litre of petrol;
	(3)  what the tax take is on a litre of petrol costing 110 pence at the pump.

Angela Eagle: The current fuel duty payable on a litre of petrol is 50.35p and is the total amount of tax paid by businesses that can reclaim VAT. For households and businesses that cannot reclaim VAT, it is charged as 17.5 per cent. on the sum of the pre-tax price of petrol and fuel duty.
	In estimating the impact on receipts of spending on fuel it is necessary to take into account a broad and complex range of reclaims and displacement factor, over a reasonable period of time.
	The forecast revenue for 2008-09 from fuel duty is published in table C.6 of the 2008 Financial Statement and Budget Report. This can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_08/report/bud_bud08_repindex.cfm
	Road fuel duties are charged at a fixed amount per litre and higher road fuel prices generally reduce revenues from fuel duties as they result in lower fuel consumption. The impact of higher oil prices on overall tax revenues and the public finances is complex, and will depend on their wider impact on the economy in general, including the effect on factors such as profitability and retail prices. Reliable estimates of the impact of changes in prices are not available.
	The petrol price incorporated into the Budget 2008 forecast for fuel duties was consistent with the NAO—National Audit Office—audited assumption on oil prices. This assumed that oil prices would average $83.8 a barrel in 2008, the average of independent forecasts.

Government Departments: Sustainable Development

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Government departments have  (a) approached Salix for assistance and  (b) received assistance (from whatever source) in response to the procedure outlined on pages 4 and 5 in the UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan.

Angela Eagle: As part of the OGC Collaborative Procurement work, the energy team has been working closely with Salix and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to promote Salix's funding opportunities. To date Salix have met with the following Departments:
	Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
	Ministry of Defence
	Cabinet Office
	HM Revenue and Customs
	Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
	Department for Communities and Local Government
	Ministry of Justice
	Department for Work and Pensions
	Salix currently have an £800,000 fund committed to Defra.
	The Carbon Trust also offers a range of support to Government Departments. In the 2007-08 financial year, following the publication of the Sustainable Procurement Action Plan, the Carbon Trust assisted the following Departments:
	Cabinet Office
	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	Department for International Development
	Department for Transport
	Department of Health
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	HM Revenue and Customs
	HM Treasury
	HM Prisons Service
	Ministry of Defence
	Office of National Statistics
	Export Credits Guarantee Department

Minimum Wage: Prosecutions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 143-4W, on minimum wage: prosecutions, how many employers have appealed against a minimum wage arrears enforcement notice in each year since the minimum wage was introduced, broken down by region.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available in the format requested.

Minimum Wage: Prosecutions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 143-44W, on minimum wage: prosecutions, how many and what proportion of minimum wage enforcement notices have become due in each year since the introduction of the minimum wage, broken down by region.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.

Minimum Wage: Prosecutions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 143-44W, on minimum wage: prosecutions, what arrangements are in place to check that employers who previously accrued minimum wage arrears are now compliant; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs periodically conduct reviews of a sample of closed cases where they previously identified arrears. This review involves compliance officers revisiting employers to ensure that they are continuing to pay the minimum wage and have implemented any advice that HMRC provided in respect of record keeping.

Minimum Wage: Prosecutions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 143-44W, on minimum wage: prosecutions, how many employers have had a case relating to minimum wage arrears heard before an employment tribunal in each year since the minimum wage was introduced; and how many of these appeals were successfully upheld.

Jane Kennedy: The following table provides information about the employment tribunal cases involving HMRC (formerly Inland Revenue) enforcing the minimum wage. The cases include both employer appeals against enforcement notices and other cases taken by HMRC. There would also have been other employment tribunal cases concerning minimum wage that went forward without HMRC involvement.
	
		
			   Cases before an employment tribunal involving HMRC  Successful employer appeals 
			 1999-2000 12 0 
			 2000-01 26 0 
			 2001-02 27 10 
			 2002-03 24 2 
			 2003-04 7 2 
			 2004-05 8 2 
			 2005-06 9 2 
			 2006-07 7 4 
			 2007-08 10 2 
		
	
	In recent years, where an enforcement notice has not been appealed or complied with, HMRC have sought arrears through county court action, rather than through the employment tribunal.

Minimum Wage: Prosecutions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 143-44W, on minimum wage: prosecutions, how many employers have been recorded as having  (a) obstructed minimum wage compliance officers and  (b) failed to produce required records in each year since the minimum wage was introduced, broken down by region.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC does not keep statistics on the number of employers who have obstructed their compliance officers or failed to produce records. In 2007 there were two successful prosecutions of employers, one for obstructing a compliance officer and one for failing to produce records, in the London and South West regions. In 2008 there has been a successful prosecution of an employer in the East Midlands for failing to produce records.

Northern Rock

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the costs incurred by (a) Virgin,  (b) Olivant and  (c) Northern Rock's management team in connection with their bids for Northern Rock which will be reimbursed to them by (i) Northern Rock and (ii) the Treasury.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 26 February 2008
	Reimbursement of bidding related costs by Northern Rock to bidders is a commercial matter between them. HM Treasury has no plans to reimburse the costs in question.
	Figures for costs of advisers incurred by Northern Rock on its own behalf and for other parties in 2007 were included in their published accounts for 2007:
	http://companyinfo.northernrock.co.uk/downloads/2007_annual_report.pdf.

Northern Rock

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the totals for  (a) other liabilities and  (b) other assets listed in the Bank of England's consolidated statement of 20 February is directly related to its financial support for Northern Rock.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 27 February 2008
	The Government do not generally comment on the Bank of England lending to individual institutions, which is a commercial matter between the Bank and that institution.
	Northern Rock published its accounts for 2007 on 31 March 2008 at:
	http://companyinfo.northernrock.co.uk/downloads/2007_annual_report.pdf
	This includes some details about its outstanding loans from the Bank of England. The company operates at arm's length from the Government on commercial principles. It is a matter for its management to release further business updates.

Northern Rock: Guernsey

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2008,  Official Report, column 660W, on Northern Rock: consultants, whether the management of Northern Rock has now indicated to the Government its intention with regard to Northern Rock Guernsey Ltd; and whether the Government have indicated to the management of Northern Rock their preferred course of action with regard to this subsidiary.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 21 April 2008
	During this period of temporary public ownership, Northern Rock is managed by its board at arm's length from Government on commercial principles.
	Northern Rock has published a business plan and a shareholder relationship framework agreement based on which HM Treasury will operate its shareholder relationship with the company. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has approved the two documents and has placed copies of the documents in the Library of both Houses.

Northern Rock: Public Appointments

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what process resulted in the appointment of  (a) Ron Sandler as Executive Chair and  (b) Ann Godbehere as Chief Financial Officer of Northern Rock.

Kitty Ussher: Mr. Sandier and Ms Godbehere were appointed through a process that was in line with common industry practice of recruiting senior managers.
	The Financial Services Authority has confirmed that both of them are suitable persons to direct the business.

Royal Mint: Grayling Political Strategy

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments the Royal Mint made to Grayling Political Strategy in each of the last five years; on what dates; and for what purpose the payments were made in each case.

Angela Eagle: Payments to Grayling Political Strategy by the Royal Mint in 2006-07 and 2007-08 were £61,792 and £84,388 respectively. These payments related to a retainer fee, press services and other miscellaneous items. No payments were made in earlier years.

Taxation: Pensioners

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of tax overpaid by pensioners who opt for four weekly or quarterly pension payments but whose tax codes assume 52 weekly payments in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: Individuals are liable to income tax on the amount of pension income, including the state pension, they are entitled to receive in a tax year. They can choose to be paid their state pension weekly in advance, or four-weekly or quarterly in arrears. As this does not alter the amount of their income liable to tax, individuals do not overpay tax by virtue of being paid their state pension four-weekly or quarterly in arrears.
	Tax is not deducted at source from state pension payments. Where an individual has another source of income which is under pay-as-you-earn (PAYE), HM Revenue and Customs will include the individual's full state pension entitlement in their tax code so that, as far as possible, the right amount of income tax is deducted at source for the year.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what critical military gaps remain to be filled in the NATO military requirement for Afghanistan.

Des Browne: holding answer 6 May 2008
	The Bucharest Summit saw a number of nations make significant additional commitments to the International Security Assistance Force; in particular President Sarkozy confirmed the deployment of an additional battalion of French troops to the east of the country.
	Nevertheless, there remains a need for more training and mentoring personnel; combat forces in the south and east of Afghanistan; and key enablers, such as helicopters, to meet the Combined Joint Statement of Requirements for Afghanistan. The UK continues to work with partners to address these shortfalls.

Air Force: Deployment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel were stationed at permanent commitment Royal Air Force bases in  (a) the Falkland Islands,  (b) Cyprus,  (c) Nevada,  (d) Gibraltar and  (e) Ascension Island at the latest date for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: As of April 2008, the information requested is as follows.
	There are currently 489 service personnel stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, 38 service personnel stationed at RAF Gibraltar and 17 service personnel stationed at Ascension Island Base.
	There is no separate RAF base in the Falkland Islands, although the RAF units form an integral part of British Forces South Atlantic Island. There are 533 service personnel who are directly associated with RAF operations in the Falkland Islands.
	There is no RAF base in Nevada. However, there are 80 service personnel serving with 39 Squadron RAF permanently based there.

Armed Forces: Females

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women joined the  (a) Royal Air Force,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Army in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 6 May 2008
	The number of women joining the UK Regular Armed Forces 1 in the last 10 years can be found in Table 3 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1—Strength, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces. TSP 1 is published monthly. The most recent publication shows figures for the 12 months to 1 March 2008 and can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tspl/intake.html.
	Copies of TSP 1 are available in the Library of the House and at www.dasa.mod.uk
	Figures show all intake to the UK Regular Forces including re-enlistments and rejoined reservists.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to help  (a) service personnel and  (b) service leavers onto the property ladder.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) encourages Service personnel to prepare for their return to civilian life during their careers by purchasing their own homes. A Long Service Advance of Pay is available which currently consists of an interest-free loan of up to £8,500. In September 2006, Service personnel were given access to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Key Worker Living programme (KWL). On 28 December, the Government extended the scheme for KWL low cost home ownership schemes for qualifying Service personnel across all English regions. This will continue to give additional routes for Service personnel to enter the housing market.
	In addition, we announced in a written statement on 19 March 2008 that we are launching a new initiative on home ownership for Service personnel. This will be a pilot scheme tailored to the particular needs of Service personnel. In the coming months we will work with commercial providers and public bodies to identify the most suitable approach. £20 million has been allocated for this pilot scheme which will be launched during financial year 2009-10 and run for up to four years.
	The MOD also has a Joint Service Housing Advice Office that gives regular briefings which are available to all Service personnel. In addition to these, they can provide detailed advice and information on specific aspects related to sourcing accommodation. Service leavers may also be provided with assistance to find housing, although this would not necessarily be related to the property ladder'.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of service accommodation units owned by Annington Homes have been sold since 1997.

Derek Twigg: Once surplus properties are handed back to Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) there is no requirement for the Department to maintain records of their subsequent use or sale.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British members of the  (a) Army,  (b) Navy and  (c) RAF left the service before their term of service was due to end in 2007.

Derek Twigg: The following table shows the number of British personnel to leave the UK regular forces(1) during the calendar year 2007 (for Naval service and RAF) and during calendar year 2006 for the Army.
	
		
			  Business area  Outflow( 3)  before time expiry 
			 Navy (4)3,510 
			 Army(2) 11,650 
			 RAF (4)2,880 
			 (1) Figures are for UK regular forces and therefore include nursing services and exclude full time reserve service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. It includes trained and untrained personnel. (2) Due to ongoing validation of data from the new Personnel Administration System, all Army Voluntary Applications data from 1 April 2007 are unavailable. Therefore the Army outflow figure is for the calendar year of 2006. (3) Figures include all outflow to civil life excluding time expiry. (4) Data are provisional.  Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10  Source: DASA (Quad-Service)

Armed Forces: Pensions

Michael Mates: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of increasing the pension entitlement of those forces' widows receiving one-third of their late husband's pension entitlement to one-half.

Derek Twigg: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister for the Armed Forces on 18 January 2002,  Official Report, column 500W. The situation remains unchanged.

Army

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of the Army's capability to react to the unexpected.

Bob Ainsworth: The Army and armed forces as a whole continues to plan for contingencies and should the unexpected occur we would respond accordingly.

Army: Labour Turnover

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have  (a) joined and  (b) left the regular Army since 2005.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of people joining the regular Army since 2005 can be found in Table 3 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1—Strength, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces. The number of people leaving the Army since 2005 can be found in Table 4 of the same publication. TSP1 is published monthly. The most recent publication shows figures for 1 April 2003 to 1 March 2008 and can be found at http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tspl/intake.html for intake(1 )and http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tspl/outflow.html for outflow(2). Copies of TSP1 are available in the Library of the House and also at http://www.dasa.mod.uk.
	(1 )Figures show all intake to UK Regular Forces including re-enlistments and rejoined reservists.
	(2) Figures show all outflow from UK Regular Forces including recalled reservists on release and outflow to the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment.

Ballistic Missile Defence

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of agreement concerning the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station at Fylingdales Moor of 1960.

Des Browne: I presume that the hon. Member is referring to the document entitled Exchange of Notes between the United States of America and the UK relating to a Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station at Fylingdales Moor dated 15 February 1960. This document is available on the United Nations website at http://untreaty.un.org/unts/l_60000/10/40/00019975.pdf. I shall also place a copy of the document in the Library of the House.

Departmental Pay

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of  (a) salaries for permanent Civil Service posts,  (b) salaries for permanent non-Civil Service posts and  (c) payments to temporary or agency workers in his Department was in each month since May 2005.

Derek Twigg: The costs for the financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07 are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			 Permanent civil service staff 1,809 1,803 
			 Permanent non-civil service staff 258 246 
			 Temporary/agency staff 377 504 
		
	
	Figures are derived from the annual report and accounts and reflect personnel employed within the Departmental Boundary for the Annual Accounts, and therefore exclude Trading Funds.
	The figure for permanent non-civil service staff includes locally engaged civilians employed overseas, and Ministers. The figure for temporary and agency staff includes both directly employed casual staff and payments to contractors for agency staff. Monthly figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what allowances and bonuses civilian staff receive for being located to  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan.

Derek Twigg: Civil servants deployed on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan receive two operational allowances and one grant. The operational deployment allowance reflects the day-to-day challenges and hardships of life in an operational theatre compared to the normal living and working environment. The operational working allowance, which differs depending on location and grade, reflects the significantly longer hours associated with operational posts. Finally, an operational deployment grant covers the additional cost of suitable clothing, personal effects and luggage for the area of deployment.
	There are no bonuses awarded specifically for being located in Iraq or Afghanistan but service here counts towards the consideration of annual performance awards in the same way as all other Ministry of Defence civil servants.

Departmental Property

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what property his Department owns  (a) in London,  (b) elsewhere in the UK and  (c) overseas; and what the latest available valuation of the property was in each case.

Derek Twigg: Details of all Ministry of Defence holdings over £1 million and their latest asset valuation are available in Chapter 7 of the National Asset Register (CM7022), which can be found on HM Treasury's website.
	Records of all MOD property below £1 million in value could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ex-servicemen: Pensions

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of former service personnel is receiving a pension from his Department.

Derek Twigg: The proportion of former service personnel receiving a pension cannot be identified as the overall number of surviving veterans is not known. However, the number of pensions in payment, broken down by scheme is as follows:
	
		
			  Pension scheme  Pensions in payment 
			 War Disablement pension scheme 167,700 
			 Armed Forces pension scheme 295,824 
			 Armed Forces compensation scheme 29 
			 Reserve Forces pension scheme 33 
			 Total number of pensions in payment 463,586

Iraq: Detainees

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1310W, on Iraq: detainees, what monitoring and administration of individuals in detention is necessary; and what the UK's reporting obligations are to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Des Browne: holding answer 24 April 2008
	In order to ensure that we can effectively administer individuals while they are detained by the UK armed forces, it is necessary to obtain and record some personal details. This is important, for example, to enable the relevant persons, such as their next of kin, to be informed of their detention and the location in which they are being detained. We collect information on an individual throughout their time in our detention, including their date of capture, medical records, and the date of release or transfer.
	We are obliged, as laid out in the Coalition Provisional Authority Memorandum Number 3 (Revised), to report to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) information on individuals we have in our detention in Iraq and to grant the ICRC access to them.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the armed forces' helicopter fleet of the types  (a) Apache,  (b) Gazelle,  (c) Lynx Mk3,  (d) Lynx Mk7,  (e) Lynx Mk8,  (f) Lynx Mk9,  (g) Merlin Mk1 and  (h) Merlin Mk3 were deployed on operations in the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

RAF Brize Norton

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of  (a) single living accommodation and  (b) service family accommodation are in each standard for condition grade at RAF Brize Norton.

Derek Twigg: All single living accommodation (SLA) in Great Britain is assessed by grade for charge (GfC), an assessment of the chargeable condition which takes into account physical condition along with other factors such as the size of the property and closeness to amenities. Service family accommodation (SFA) in Great Britain is assessed by standard for condition (SfC), an assessment of the physical condition of the property alone. In both standard and grade, one is the highest and four the lowest.
	
		
			  SLA at RAF Brize Norton is at the following GfC 
			   Number of SLA bed-spaces  As a percentage of the total stock 
			 Grade 1 688 32 
			 Grade 2 303 14 
			 Grade 3 587 27 
			 Grade 4 580 27 
		
	
	
		
			  SFA is at the following SfC 
			   Number of SFA properties  As a percentage of the total stock 
			 SlfC 308 26 
			 S2fC 532 45 
			 S3fC 334 29 
			 S4fC 0 0 
		
	
	While the Department recognises that some accommodation at Brize Norton is not of the standard that service personnel and their families deserve we are taking steps to address this. We plan to invest over £38 million to deliver some 670 new en-suite bed-spaces by 2012 after which around 70 per cent. of the SLA at Brize Norton will be at Grade 1 or 2. There will be no occupied Grade 4 accommodation at Brize Norton after 2008-09.
	Regarding SFA, we plan to demolish and rebuild to the highest standard some 600 of the poorest condition SFA properties.
	From 2012, RAF Brize Norton will become the UK's single air port of embarkation for the deployment and recovery of forces and material committed to operations and training. Programme CATARA (the Centralisation of Air Transport and Air to Air Refuelling assets and Associated Units), is taking forward the development and reconfiguration of the station's infrastructure to ensure RAF Brize Norton's future contribution to the Defence output can be delivered effectively and efficiently. In connection with this project, we will provide an additional 200 SFA.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children in Care: General Certificate of Secondary Education

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of eligible children in care were not entered for any GCSE in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of eligible children in care did not achieve five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many and what percentage of eligible children in care were not entered for an English, mathematics, science or foreign language GCSE in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The national data collections on the educational outcomes for looked-after children were introduced in 2000. Data collected since 2000 and published in "Outcome Indicators for Looked After Children Twelve months to 30 September", show the GCSE performance or equivalents of children who were looked after for at least 12 months. The available information for England is shown in the table.
	
		
			  GCSE performance or equivalents of children who are looked after continuously for at least 12 months in year 11( 1) , 12 months ending 30 September 2000 to 2007, England 
			   Sat at least one GCSE or GNVQ  One GCSE at grade A* to G or a GNVQ  Five A* to C GCSE grades (or equivalent)  Five A* to G GCSE grades (or equivalent) 
			   Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2)  Number  Percentage( 2) 
			 2000 2,100 53.5 1,900 49.2 300 7.3 1,400 35.5 
			 2001 2,200 54.1 2,100 49.6 330 8.0 1,400 33.1 
			 2002 2,500 57.9 2,300 53.2 320 7.5 1,500 36.3 
			 2003 2,600 56.8 2,400 52.9 400 8.7 1,700 36.8 
			 2004 2,900 59.1 2,700 56.1 450 9.4 1,900 39.4 
			 2005 3,000 64.0 2,900 60.2 510 10.8 1,900 40.7 
			 2006 3,300 65.6 3,200 63.2 600 11.8 2,100 41.4 
			 2007 3,400 67.7 3,200 63.7 640 12.6 2,200 43.1 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 1,000, and to the nearest 100 if over 1,000. (2) Expressed as a percentage of all looked-after children in year 11.  Source: OC2 Survey. 
		
	
	Although we do not collect figures on the number of children looked after who were entered for a GCSE, we do have information on the number who sat at least one GCSE/GNVQ. This is shown in the table.
	We do not collect information about the number of looked-after children who achieve GCSE grades in individual subjects. However, these data are available at a local level enabling local authorities to set targets for the attainment of looked-after children at key stage 4 which include English and mathematics. These targets are negotiated with the National Strategies and Government offices and form a statutory part of a local authority's local area agreement.
	Since 1997, there has been an unprecedented focus at national and local level on improving outcomes for looked-after children. Over a five-year period from 1998, the Government invested £885 million through the Quality Protects initiative and a further £113 million through their Choice Protects funding. Looked-after children often have highly complex needs and improving their outcomes is a top Government priority.
	In-spite of improvements, outcomes are nowhere near good enough. That is why we are now building on the Care Standards Act 2002, which introduced National Minimum Standards for children's services, and the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, which for the first time provided a legislative framework to support care leavers make the transition to adulthood. We have made nearly £300 million extra available to deliver "Care Matters: Time for Change" and the implementation plan "Care Matters: Time to deliver for children in care", including the introduction of a personal education allowance for all looked-after children who are at risk of not reaching the expected national standards of attainment. Through the Children and Young Persons Bill, currently before Parliament, we intend to require all schools to have a designated teacher to champion the needs of looked-after children and to ensure that local authorities do everything possible to avoid disrupting their education and training.

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of nursery children who travel to and from nursery  (a) by car,  (b) by public transport,  (c) on foot and  (d) by bicycle.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold complete data relating to mode of travel to school. Provision of this information is only compulsory for those schools with an approved Travel Plan. The scope of collection includes: maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools, city technology colleges, academies and special schools.
	In the spring 2007 School Census, mode of travel data was supplied for almost 70 per cent. of pupils. The available information relating to nursery pupils is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  LA maintained nursery and primary schools( 1) : nursery pupils by mode of travel( 2,3) , as at January 2007, England 
			   Nursery pupils( 2) 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 Walk 135,390 42.2 
			 Cycle 900 0.3 
			 Car/van 61,550 19.2 
			 Car share 3,960 1.2 
			 Public service bus 3,010 0.9 
			 Dedicated school bus 370 0.1 
			 Bus (type not known) 980 0.3 
			 Taxi 610 0.2 
			 Train 70 0.0 
			 London underground 20 0.0 
			 Metro/tram/light rail 50 0.0 
			 Boarding pupil—not applicable 0 0.0 
			 Other 1,120 0.4 
			 Mode of travel—not collected 112,540 35.1 
			 Total 320,550 100.0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes all pupils in maintained nursery schools and pupils in maintained primary schools whose national curriculum year group is nursery. Includes pupils with sole and dual (main) registration. (3) Where a pupil uses more than one mode of travel for each journey to school, the longest element of the journey by distance should be recorded.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many child care staff left the profession within  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) five years of entering the profession in the latest period for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Children's Centres

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of children's centres to be located in the super output areas ranked in the  (a) first to third,  (b) fourth to seventh and  (c) eighth to tenth deciles of deprivation by 2010.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities are responsible for the planning and delivery of Sure Start children's centres. There are currently 2,906 designated centres. On average we expect children's centres to offer services to around 800 children under five and their families so in practice one children's centre will serve a number of Super Output Areas (SOAs), as well as the SOA in which it is located. From the information provided by local authorities to our delivery partner, Together for Children (TfC), our current estimate is that around two-thirds of designated centres predominantly serve children and families living in the 30 per cent. most disadvantaged SOAs. The remaining centres predominantly serve children and families living outside of the 30 per cent. most disadvantaged SOAs.
	Local authorities, supported by TfC, are currently planning the final phase of delivery of the children's centre programme, so that by 2010 there will be 3,500 centres nationally, one for every community. As part of the planning process local authorities are reviewing the reach areas of existing centres to ensure that by 2010 all under fives and their families have access to a children's centre; that the range and intensity of services in each centre reflects the needs of the local community; and that resources continue to be focused on the most disadvantaged areas.

Citizenship: Teachers

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teachers of citizenship there were in secondary schools in Easington constituency at the most recent date for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the average number of hours each week of citizenship teaching which took place in each school in the constituency in the last 12 month.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Information is available for the number of teachers teaching citizenship for England overall from the Secondary Schools Curriculum Staffing Survey (SSCSS) which is an occasional sample survey last conducted in 2002 and 2007. 2007 figures will be published on 29 May 2008. The 2002 survey showed that there were 9,000 teachers in secondary schools teaching citizenship.

Departmental Telephone Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) 0800,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public are in use by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies which report to his Department.

Kevin Brennan: The information as requested is not readily available centrally within the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). To respond fully would involve an extensive internal and external information collection exercise which would exceed the recommended disproportionate cost threshold. DCSF does not keep central telephony records for its arms length bodies, However, to be helpful, the following information, relating solely to DCSF headquarters, can be provided.
	DCSF currently employs a total of 24 non-geographic telephone numbers. These can be categorised broadly into two groups: those for use by citizens; and those for use internally by DCSF staff.
	Services used by citizens and accessed by customers calling non-geographic telephone numbers are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Helpline  Number  Information/help provided 
			 Headship Information Line 0845 716 5136 Information in connection with national headship training programmes 
			 EDUBASE 0870 120 2527 Provision of schools data to the public 
			 Sexwise Helpline 0800 28 29 30 For under 18s—answers queries on sex and relationships 
			 Office of the Schools Adjudicator 0870 001 2468 Schools Adjudication service 
			 Education Maintenance Allowance 0800 056 2811 Helpline for organisations involved in delivering EMA 
			 Young Minds 0800 018 2138 For parents concerned about the mental health of a baby, young person 
			 One Parent Families 0800 018 5026 Support for lone parents 
			 Family Rights Group 0800 731 1696 Support for families whose children are involved with social services 
			 DCSF Main Switchboard officials 0870 001 2345 Service to route callers to DCSF 
			 DCSF Public Inquiry Line 0870 000 2288 General information line for all DCSF related inquiries 
			 Prolog 0845 602 2260 DCSF publications helpline 
			 Families need Fathers 0870 760 7496 Help parents to retain, develop and make best use of children's relationship's 
			 Fast Track Helpline 0845 601 5921 Queries from fast track teachers and head teachers 
			 Fast Track recruitment helpline 0845 058 1066 Teachers applying to join the Fast Track Teaching programme 
			 Teacher information line 0845 600 0991 Advice on training opportunities and support available 
			 Return to teach line 0845 600 0993 Advice on training opportunities and support available 
			 National Strategies Helpdesk 0845 850 1444 To support the delivery of the national strategies

Extended Schools

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of secondary schools offering an extended school service  (a) at least once a week and  (b) more than once a week in each year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: We expect all schools to be providing access to the full core offer of extended services by 2010. Currently there are 2,004 secondary schools providing the full core offer. All of these will be offering extended services more than once a week. There are many other schools which are already providing access to parts of the core offer that are not yet included in these figures.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath, of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 1548-49W, on the general certificate of secondary education, which are the nine schools in the 90 to 100 per cent. least deprived catchments with less than 30 per cent. five A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information requested is set out as follows.
	The nine schools located in the 90 to 100 per cent. least deprived catchments with less than 30 per cent. five A* to C GCSEs, including English and Mathematics, in 2007 are listed in the following table:
	
		
			  LA name  School name 
			 Bromley Kelsey Park Sports College 
			 Buckinghamshire The Beaconsfield School 
			 Essex Sawyers Hall College of Science and Technology 
			 Kent Aylesford School Sports College 
			  New Line Learning Academy(1) 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames Scheme School 
			 South Gloucestershire Bradley Stoke Community School(1) 
			 Sutton Stanley Park High School 
			 Wiltshire St. Joseph's Catholic School 
			 (1) These two schools did not have any 15-year-old pupils in 2007. 
		
	
	The figures excluding schools that did not have any 15-year-old pupils in 2007 are as follows (original figures previously supplied in answer to PQ 198658 on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 1548-49W, in brackets):
	
		
			  Schools not achieving target of 30 per cent. of 15-year-old pupils achieving five plus A*-C GCSE and equivalents including English and mathematics, by IMD, 2007 
			  IMD decile( 1)  Total number of schools( 2)  Number of schools with less than 30 per cent. five plus A*-C inc English and maths  Percentage of schools with less than 30 per cent. five plus A*-C inc English and maths 
			 0-10 per cent. most deprived 249 (259) 134 (144) 53.8 (55.6) 
			 10-20 per cent. 299 (309) 118 (129) 39.5 (41.7) 
			 20-30 per cent. 292 (301) 90 (99) 30.8 (32.9) 
			 30-40 per cent. 334 (336) 89 (91) 26.6 (27.1) 
			 40-50 per cent. 339 (351) 62 (74) 18.3 (21.1) 
			 50-60 per cent. 298 (305) 45 (52) 15.1 (17.0) 
			 60-70 per cent. 324 (330) 37 (43) 11.4 (13.0) 
			 70-80 per cent. 293 (297) 31 (35) 10.6 (11.8) 
			 80-90 per cent. 316 (322) 26 (32) 8.2 (9.9) 
			 90-100 per cent. least deprived 302 (304) 7 (9) 2.3 (3.0) 
			 (1) Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2004. (2) Including only those maintained mainstream schools with results published in the School and College Achievement and Attainment tables.  Note: Counting on the basis of 15-year-old pupils, not pupils at the end of Key Stage 4  Source: School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables 2007

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many eligible pupils did not obtain five GCSEs at any grade, excluding equivalents, in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The information for 1998/99 onwards is given as follows. Figures for 1996/97 and 1997/98 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Number of eligible pupils who did not achieve five GCSEs at any grade  Percentage of eligible pupils who did not achieve five GCSEs at any grade 
			 2006/07 100,510 15.5 
			 2005/06 82,278 12.7 
			 2004/05 77,628 12.3 
			 2003/04 77,911 12.1 
			 2002/03 91,320 14.7 
			 2001/02 87,237 14.4 
			 2000/01 85,820 14.2 
			 1999/2000 90,685 15.6 
			 1998/99 98,177 16.9 
			  Notes: 1. From 2004/05 onwards figures relate to pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. Figures in 2002/03 and 2003/04 relate to 15-year-olds pupils (age at start of academic year, ie 31 August 2002). 2. The figures relate to pupils attending all schools. 3. The figures relate to GCSEs only.

Mathematics: Primary Education

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his policy is on the use of Reform mathematics in the teaching of mathematics in primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Government do not have a policy relating specifically to the use of Reform mathematics in the teaching of mathematics in primary schools.
	However, the Government fully recognise the importance of good quality mathematics teaching in order to improve pupils' achievement in mathematics and their enthusiasm for the subject at all levels of their education. That is why we asked Sir Peter Williams to undertake his review of mathematics teaching in early years settings and primary schools. The review published its interim report on the 19 March 2008 and is set to publish its final report in June 2008.

Primary Education

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of the datasets on road distance to a primary school for lower layer super output areas provided by the Department for Education and Skills to assist in the compilation of the Index of Deprivation in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2007.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold the requested information. The 'road distance to primary school' indicators used in the calculation of the 2004 and 2007 Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) were calculated on behalf of colleagues in Communities and Local Government by the Social Disadvantage Research Centre, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford. The indicator used in the calculation of the 2004 Indices, based on information for the academic year 2001/02, is available on the Neighbourhood Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/neighbourhood-statistics.asp. I understand that colleagues in Communities and Local Government are seeking the relevant permissions to enable them to publish the underlying indicators of the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007 at lower super output area level, including those in the geographical barriers sub-domain. It is my understanding that a copy of these indicators will be placed in the Library of the House.
	Further information about the underlying indicators used in the calculation of the 2004 and 2007 Indices of Multiple Deprivation is available at the Neighbourhood Statistics and Communities and Local Government websites
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/indiciesdeprivation07.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average expenditure on each pupil in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary education in the County of Durham was in each year since 2003.

Jim Knight: The available information on the average expenditure per pupil in primary and secondary education for Durham is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Primary  Secondary 
			 2002-03 2,590 3,140 
			 2003-04 2,810 3,500 
			 2004-05 3,000 3,780 
			 2005-06 3,280 4,090 
			 2006-07 3,480 4,390

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will estimate the proportion of the education budget which was  (a) devolved directly to schools,  (b) devolved directly to local authorities and  (c) allocated by his Department in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not yet available. The Department is currently updating this information for its 2008 departmental annual report due to be published at the end of May. I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as the information is available.

Schools: Fire Hazards

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to raise awareness of fire hazards associated with certain types of composite building panels among those involved in the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: The Department has already published comprehensive guidance on the fire hazards associated with some types of composite building panels in Building Bulletin 100 "Design for fire safety in schools". The Building Bulletin was written for DCSF by the Fire and Safety Unit at the Building Research Establishment and was published in 2007. BB100 is quoted as the compliance document for schools in Approved Document B (Fire Safety) 2006 edition, in support of the Building Regulations. In order to obtain Building Regulations approval, new and refurbished schools, including those in the Building Schools for the Future programme, must comply with Approved Document B.
	Appendix B of BB100: Fire behaviour of insulating core panels covers composite building panels and gives design recommendations for their use in schools. This guidance is based on research that BRE carried out for the Home Office in 1996-97 on the fire hazards of some types of composite panels and the findings are valid for many building types, including schools.

Special Educational Needs: Dyslexia

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  if his Department will accredit a specialist qualification, recognised by the British Dyslexia Association, for teachers in assessing and supporting dyslexic children;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the merits of a system to identify children at risk of dyslexia as early as possible in the education system.

Kevin Brennan: In a written ministerial statement on 6 May 2008, the Secretary of State for Children, School and Families announced that the Government have asked Sir Jim Rose, in the light of evidence, to make recommendations on the identification and teaching of children with dyslexia, and on how best to take forward the commitment in the Children's Plan to establish a pilot scheme in which children with dyslexia will receive Reading Recovery support or one-to-one tuition from specialist dyslexia teachers. We would expect him to address issues of specialist teaching and early identification.

Specialised Schools

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many secondary schools entitled to but which have not yet become specialist schools there are  (a) in each local authority area  (b) with a proportion of children entitled to free school meals of (i) under 10 per cent., (ii) over 20 per cent., (iii) over 30 per cent. and (iv) over 40 per cent. and  (c) which have applied for, but not been granted, specialist status in the last three years.

Jim Knight: There are 343 secondary schools eligible to join the Specialist Schools Programme but which have not yet submitted a successful application. The numbers are listed in the following table per local authority. Of these 343 (i) 86 schools have under 10 per cent. of children with free school meals, (ii) 95 schools have over 10 per cent. of children with free school meals, (iii) 78 schools have over 20 per cent. of children with free school meals, (iv) 44 schools have over 30 per cent. of children with free school meals, (v) 33 schools have over 40 per cent. of children with free school meals and (vi) there are seven schools for which we do not have the information. 134 of the schools have applied for specialist status in the last three years but have not been successful. Some of these have schools have applied on more that one occasion during that period.
	
		
			  Local authorities  Number not a specialist school  Number of non-specialist schools with 10% of children on free school meals  Number over 10%  Number over 20%  Number over 30%  Number over 40%  Number for which we have no fsm data  Number of eligible schools that have applied  for  specialist status in last  3  years 
			 Barking and Dagenham, LB of 2 — 1 1 — — — — 
			 Barnet, LB of 1 — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Barnsley 3 — 1 2 — — — 2 
			 Bedfordshire 2 1 1 — — — — 2 
			 Bexley, LB of 3 1 2 1 2 — — — 
			 Birmingham 4 — — — 1 3 — 2 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 2 — — 2 — — — — 
			 Bolton 2 — — — 1 — 1 1 
			 Bournemouth 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			 Bracknell Forest 2 1 1 — — — — 2 
			 Bradford 3 — — 2 — 1 — 1 
			 Brighton and Hove 2 — — 2 — — — 1 
			 Bristol, city of 4 2 — 1 1 — — — 
			 Buckinghamshire 4 2 1 — — 1 — 3 
			 Bury 2 1 — — — — — — 
			 Calderdale 2 — — — 2 — — 1 
			 Camden, LB of 1 — — — 1 — — 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 — — — — — 1 — 
			 Cheshire 2 1   1 — — 1 
			 Coventry 2 — 1 1 — — — 1 
			 Croydon, LB of 3 — — 3 — — — 2 
			 Cumbria 6 — 3 2 — 1 — 2 
			 Darlington 1 — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Derby, city of 2 — — — 2 — — 2 
			 Derbyshire 5 1 4 — — — — 1 
			 Doncaster 1 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Dorset 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 Dudley 4 1 1 — 2 — — — 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1 1 — — — — — 1 
			 East Sussex 2 — — 2 — — — 1 
			 Enfield, LB of 3 1 — — 1 1 — 1 
			 Essex 9 2 3 4 — — — 3 
			 Gloucestershire 3 — 1 2 — — — 2 
			 Greenwich, LB of 5 1 — — 3 — 1 1 
			 Hackney, LB of 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 Halton 2 — — 1 — 1 — — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2 — — — 1 1 — — 
			 Hampshire 6 1 3 2 — — — 2 
			 Haringey, LB of 2 — 1 1 — — 1 — 
			 Havering, LB of 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Hertfordshire 6 4 2 — — — — 4 
			 Hillingdon, LB of 4 1 — — 3 — — 2 
			 Hounslow, LB of 1 — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Isle of Wight 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			 Islington, LB of 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 Kent 8 2 4 2 — — — 5 
			 Kingston upon Hull, city of 5 — 2 2 1 — — — 
			 Kirklees 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Knowsley 3 — — — 1 2 — — 
			 Lancashire 12 3 2 4 3 — — 1 
			 Leeds 6 — — 1 2 3 — 1 
			 Leicester, city of 3 — — 2 — — 1 2 
			 Leicestershire 20 15 5 — — — — 4 
			 Lewisham, LB of 2 — — — 1 1 — — 
			 Lincolnshire 11 4 5 2 — — — — 
			 Liverpool 2 1 — — — 1 — 2 
			 Luton 2 — 2 — — — — — 
			 Manchester 4 — — — — 4 4 2 
			 Medway 5 1 3 1 — — — 2 
			 Merton, LB of 1 — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Milton Keynes 3 1 1 — 1 — — 2 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 Newham, LB of 3 — — 1 — 2 — 2 
			 Norfolk 5 4 — 1 — — — 5 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1 — 1 — — — — 1 
			 North Lincolnshire 1 1 — — — — — 1 
			 North Tyneside 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			 North Yorkshire 4 1 3 — — — — — 
			 Northamptonshire 5 1 4 — — — — 1 
			 Northumberland 2 1 — 1 — — — 2 
			 Nottingham, City of 7 — — 2 1 4 — 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 6 — 3 3 — — — 2 
			 Oldham 3 — — 2 — 1 — 2 
			 Oxfordshire 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			 Peterborough, City of 2 1 — — 1 — — 1 
			 Poole 3 2 — 1 — — — 1 
			 Portsmouth 2 — 1 1 — — — 2 
			 Reading 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			 Redbridge, LB of 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1 — — — 1 — — 1 
			 Richmond upon Thames, LB of 2 — 1 1 — — — 1 
			 Rochdale 2 — — 1 1 — — 1 
			 Rotherham 1 — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Salford 5 1 — 3 — 1 1 2 
			 Sandwell 3 — 2 1 — — — 1 
			 Sefton 4 — 1 3 — — — 1 
			 Sheffield 2 — 2 — — — — 1 
			 Shropshire 1 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Slough 2 — 1 — 1 — — — 
			 Solihull 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			 Somerset 2 2 — — — — — 1 
			 South Gloucestershire 1 — 1 — — — — 1 
			 South Tyneside 2 — — 1 1 — — 2 
			 Southampton 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Southend on Sea 2 — — 1 — 1 — 1 
			 St. Helens 1 — — 1 — — — — 
			 Staffordshire 4 3 1 — — — — 3 
			 Stockport 2 — 2 — — — — 1 
			 Stockton on Tees 4 1 2 — 1 — — 3 
			 Stoke on Trent 2 1 — 1 — — — 2 
			 Suffolk 1 — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Sunderland 3 — 1 2 — — — — 
			 Surrey 10 7 3 — — — — 2 
			 Sutton, LB of 1 — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Swindon 1 — 1 — — — 1 — 
			 Tameside 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Telford and Wrekin 4 — 1 2 1 — — 2 
			 Torbay 2 1 — 1 — — — 1 
			 Tower Hamlets, LB of 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 Waltham Forest, LB of 4 1 — — 2 1 — 1 
			 Wandsworth, LB of 2 — 1 — 1 — — 1 
			 Warrington 1 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Warwickshire 1 — 1 — — — — 1 
			 West Sussex 2 1 1 — — — — — 
			 Westminster, LB of 1 — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Wiltshire 2 1 1 — — — — 1 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead, RB of 1 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Wirral 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Wokingham 1 — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Wolverhampton 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Worcestershire 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 No data schools 1 — — — — — 1 — 
			 Total 343 86 95 78 44 33 7 134

Teachers: Pay

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average annual change in earnings of teachers who were continuously employed in the teaching system between 1997 and 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Provisional information on the average salary of teachers is available to March 2006. Between April 1997 and March 2006, the average gross salary increase for full-time regular qualified teachers in the local authority maintained sector in England and Wales, who were recorded as being in continuous service during the period, was 73.2 per cent. in cash terms. Taking a simple average across this nine-year period gives an average annual increase of 8.1 per cent.
	The figure provided is for teachers of all grades and the salaries, and include all allowances. They are as recorded in March of each year and are from the Database of Teachers Records. Teachers were included where their service was shown as continuous during the period 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2006. In a small number of cases, some of this service may have been completed outside of the local authority maintained sector. Only salaries paid inside the sector have been used in the calculation of the average salary increase.

Teachers: Training

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 250W, on teachers: training, how much has been allocated for spending on the national strategies programmes in each year from 2008-09 to 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The expected spending on the National Strategies programmes for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 will be in the region of £488 million, £525 million and £561 million respectively. The increased spending reflects the phased roll-out of the Every Child a Reader, Every Child Counts and Every Child a Writer intervention programmes for children in primary schools.
	Funding beyond the 2007 comprehensive spending review has yet to be determined.

JUSTICE

Churches: Wales

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many churches in Wales have been listed in connection with the chancel repair liability provisions of the Land Registration Act 2002.

Michael Wills: Land Registry does not hold this information in the form requested. Under the Land Registration Act 2002 (Transitional Provisions)(No2) Order 2003, a right in respect of the repair of a church chancel operates as an overriding interest in the case of both first registrations and registerable dispositions.
	Land Registry does not keep specific records of the number of successful applications made for an entry in respect of this particular liability. It is able to obtain some information by a search of its computerised register database but this information is not conclusive because of the different ways in which the liability is disclosed and consequently either noted in the register or protected by way of a caution against first registration. Information that is held by Land Registry identifies the registered title of one property in Wales that contains an entry in respect of the liability. However, there may be others that could not be identified without a detailed search of each register of title to land in Wales.

Courts

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many warrants were issued against an individual for failure to appear in court in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested has only been collected since April 2005 and is in the following table:
	
		
			  FTA warrants issued  England and Wales( 1) 
			   Number 
			 During 2005-06 163,993 
			 During 2006-07 146,936 
			 April to Dec 2007 96,687 
			 (1) Figures are totals issued in the period specified.

Courts

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many warrants issued for a failure to appear in court are outstanding.

Maria Eagle: As at 31 December 2007 there were a total of 27,680 FTA warrants outstanding across England and Wales.

Electronic Voting

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans the Government have to make further use of electronic  (a) voting and  (b) counting at elections.

Michael Wills: In the Governance of Britain Green Paper, the Government set out a long-term aim to investigate the potential benefits of remote electronic voting and to take advantage of developing communication technologies to provide increased accessibility, flexibility and choice in the way people vote.
	In the immediate term, we are reviewing the lessons learnt from previous electronic voting and counting pilots. This will help us to plan our future activities around electronic voting and counting.

Prisoners Transfers: Young Offenders

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many youth offending team inspections found that young offenders were sharing transport with adult prisoners in each of the last three years, broken down by establishment; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Youth offending teams are not responsible for arranging transport to custody and the issue of juvenile and adult prisoners sharing the same vehicle is not addressed in their inspections.
	Escort contractors retain information by contractual year; September to August. No records are kept on the number of young adult prisoners (aged 18 to 20 years) sharing transport with adult prisoners, as this is permitted under the contracts.
	Juvenile prisoners (aged 15 to 17 years) and adult prisoners should not travel in the same vehicle except in special circumstances, for example when the delay in waiting for a separate vehicle is not in the best interests of the individual. Where juvenile and adult prisoners travel in the same vehicle they are escorted onto the vehicle separately, segregated while on the vehicle and a custody officer remains in the back of the vehicle throughout the journey to ensure their welfare.
	Information is held on the number of occasions that juvenile prisoners have shared transport with adult prisoners since September 2005. The information is not recorded by establishment.
	
		
			  Period  Number of occasions juvenile prisoners shared transport with adult prisoners  Total number of juvenile prisoners escorted 
			 September 2005 to August 2006 2,840 76,289 
			 September 2006 to August 2007 2,524 75,685 
			 September 2007 to August 2008 981 40,823

Secure Training Centres: Restraint Techniques

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times physical interventions were used in secure training centres for the purposes of restraint  (a) in total and  (b) in each year since 2000, broken down by establishment; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The following table sets out the number of recorded restrictive physical interventions in secure training centres 1 April 2007 to March 2008. The data have been provided by the Youth Justice Board.
	The Youth Justice Board has been collecting data against common definitions from April 2007. Comparable data is not available for earlier periods.
	
		
			   2007  2008 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sept  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  March 
			 Hassock -field 49 56 38 49 96 49 42 44 18 27 32 19 
			 Rainsbrook 20 26 21 42 50 29 52 45 30 18 16 24 
			 Oakhill 33 1 151 149 86 71 67 55 78 35 61 118 
			 Medway 68 80 66 146 81 53 81 67 75 75 36 41 
			 Total 170 270 276 386 313 202 242 211 201 155 145 202

Young Offender Institutions: Mental Health Services

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which young offender institutions do not provide child and adolescent mental health support.

David Hanson: All young offender institutions in England have access to in-reach child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
	The commissioning of secondary/tertiary care health services to YOIs based in Wales is the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government/NHS Wales.

Young Offender Institutions: Pharmacy

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many youth offending team inspections expressed concern relating to pharmacy management and loss of medication in each of the last three years, broken down by establishment; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are not responsible for pharmacy in secure establishments, and this issue is not addressed in YOT inspections. This is a matter for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP).
	A full list of reports of prisons and Young Offenders Institutions is available on the HMIP website at:
	http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspect_reports/hmp-yoi-inspections.html/
	The information requested on inspections of YOIs in England which raised concerns about local pharmacy management is shown in the table. No report expressed concern on loss of medication during the last three years.
	Young Offender Institutions in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly.
	
		
			  Establishment YOIs in England  Years of reports in which recommendations were  made regarding pharmacy issues:  2005-07 
			 Ashfield 2006, 
			 Brinsford 2005, 2007 
			 Castington 2006, 
			 Cookham Wood 2006 
			 Downview 2006 
			 Eastwood Park (1)— 
			 Feltham 2007 
			 Foston Hall (1)— 
			 Hindley 2006 
			 Huntercombe 2006 
			 Lancaster Farms (1)— 
			 New Hall (1)— 
			 Stoke Health 2005 
			 Thorn Cross 2005 
			 Warren Hill 2007 
			 Werrington (1)— 
			 Wetherby (1)— 
			 (1) None

Young Offender Institutions: Restraint Techniques

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which young offender institutions have been found by inspectors to be using health care beds for behaviour management purposes in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: To provide information for the last five years would be at disproportionate cost. However, in reports published since January 2007, Her Majesties Inspectorate of Prisons has identified five young offenders institutions which have been using health care beds for behaviour management purposes—HMP and YOI Brinsford, HMYOI Hindley, HMYOI Lancaster Farms, HMP and YOI Lewes and HMP and YOI Parc.
	Action plans produced in response to the recommendations made in the Brinsford and Hindley reports have confirmed that young people at these prisons are no longer placed in the health care unit for behaviour management reasons. A health care needs analysis is being undertaken at Lancaster Farms and will consider this issue. Action plans have yet to be produced in respect of the Lewes and Parc reports.

Young Offender Institutions: Restraint Techniques

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many injuries were sustained by offenders held in  (a) secure training centres,  (b) secure children's homes and  (c) young offender institutions in each year since 2000, broken down by establishment; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The Youth Justice Board has been collecting data against common definitions from April 2007. Comparable data across the children and young people's custodial estate is not available for earlier periods.
	The following table shows the number of injuries sustained by trainees as a result of assault, restraint or self harm.
	
		
			   2007  2008 
			   April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December  January  February 
			  Secure training centres
			 Hassockfield 3 14 1 1 9 5 5 5 0 1 2 
			 Rainsbrook 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 6 2 0 1 
			 Oakhill 13 26 16 11 36 21 25 8 8 3 3 
			 Medway 20 14 11 20 10 7 4 14 6 8 4 
			 
			  Young offender institutions
			 Ashfield 3 8 15 13 16 9 15 7 10 3 1 
			 Parc 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Brinsford 9 9 1 3 3 1 2 4 3 4 1 
			 Castington 1 1 0 3 2 1 2 0 3 1 2 
			 Feltham 17 17 17 21 4 8 1 12 0 4 15 
			 Hindley 4 2 3 3 1 5 0 2 2 6 3 
			 Huntercombe 0 8 10 3 3 0 11 17 0 2 5 
			 Lancaster Farms 5 15 10 21 7 1 3 4 2 1 4 
			 Stoke Heath 0 1 2 7 4 2 3 1 4 3 1 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Warren Hill 11 10 2 2 1 3 2 1 5 3 1 
			 Werrington 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 
			 Wetherby 1 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 0 4 9 
			 CookhamWood(1) 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 1 0 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Downview 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 — 0 
			 Eastwood Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Foston Hall 0 0 15 5 13 19 8 1 4 6 5 
			 New Hall 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 
			 
			  Secure children's homes
			 Aldine House 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Atkinson Unit 0 0 4 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 
			 Aycliffe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barton Moss 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Clayfields 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 East Moor 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 
			 Gladstone House 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillside 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Kyloe House 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 4 1 2 0 2 1 2 0 0 2 0 
			 Orchard Lodge 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Red Bank 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Sutton Place 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Swanwick Lodge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Vinney Green 2 2 2 3 2 2 6 15 1 0 2 
			 (1) Cookham Wood was unoccupied for part of the period.  Note: Data provided by the YJB. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

Young Offender Institutions: Special Educational Needs

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the need for teaching support for teachers in young offender institutions who work with groups of young people with acute special educational needs.

David Hanson: An audit of education in secure accommodation carried out by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in 2002 identified the need for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs), and funding was obtained by the YJB to ensure that each young offenders institution has the support of a SENCO. This requirement is incorporated into the Offenders Learning Journey (Juvenile) which sets out the delivery of learning and skills services to young offenders in custody in England. The Learning and Skills Council is also currently undertaking a review process which will ascertain the level and range of educational need for offenders in each custodial and community setting, thus informing the range and types of provision to be commissioned. We expect the reviews to include an analysis of the level of need for learners with learning difficulties and disability. The Welsh Assembly government lead on education provision in the two YOIs in Wales and this is guided by the YJB's National Specification for Learning and Skills which advocates the use of SENCOs.

Young Offenders: Body Searches

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which young offender institutions include strip searching in their routine admission procedures.

Maria Eagle: All prisons and young offender institutions are currently required to full search (previously known as strip search) prisoners on reception for security reasons, in accordance with the HM Prison Service National Security Framework and Prison Rule 41(1).

Young Offenders: Prison Accommodation

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many inmates of young offender institutions were transferred to the secure adult prison estate in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: Data are not held centrally on the numbers of 21-year-olds who are transferred from young offender institutions into the secure adult prison estate. Offenders who reach their 21st birthdays towards the end of their sentences normally remain in the young adult estate. Those who have a substantial time still to serve are normally transferred to the secure adult estate soon after reaching 21. Careful guidelines are observed on the management of such transfers.
	In exceptional and rare circumstances, an 18 to 21-year-old sentenced offender can be held in an adult prison as an adult on an individual basis (under section 43(2)(c) of the Prison Act 1952) and is managed by local establishment management, where appropriate the offender manager and only when agreed by the Prison Service Area Manager.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of young offenders whose final custodial establishment was a secure children's home were reconvicted within two years of release in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: Secure children's homes are generally used to house offenders aged between 12 and 16. Juvenile re-offending is calculated over a one-year follow-up period and covers those aged 10 to 17 who were discharged from custody, as well as those commencing pre-court and non-custodial court disposals. A release from custody could be from a secure training centre, a secure children's home or a young offender institution, with most releases being from young offender institutions. Data are not broken down by type of release establishment. The following table shows the number and proportion of juvenile offenders who re-offended within one year of release from custody for the 2000, 2004 and 2005 cohorts. Data for the 2002 and 2003 cohorts are not available.
	
		
			  Cohort  Number of offenders in cohort  Number in cohort re- offending  Proportion of cohort offending (percentage) 
			 2000 979 764 78 
			 2004 843 659 78 
			 2005 865 659 76 
		
	
	Data for the 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 juvenile cohorts on the frequency and severity of juvenile re-offending are due to be published on 9 May 2008 online at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/reoffendingjuveniles.htm

Young Offenders: Self-mutilation

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances of prisoner self-harm were recorded in  (a) secure training centres,  (b) secure children's homes and  (c) young offender institutions in each year since 2000, broken down by establishment; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The following table sets out the number of recorded self-harm incidents that occurred in under-18 custodial establishments between 1 April 2007 and 29 February 2008. The data have been provided by the Youth Justice Board.
	The Youth Justice Board has been collecting data across the secure estate for children and young people against common definitions of self-harm from April 2007. Comparative data are not available for earlier periods.
	
		
			   2007  2008 
			   April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December  January  February 
			  Secure children's homes   
			 Aldine House 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Atkinson Unit 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Aycliffe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barton Moss 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Clayfields 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 East Moor 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Gladstone Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillside 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Kyloe House 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Orchard Lodge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Redbank 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Sutton Place 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Swanwick Lodge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Vinney Green 1 0 0 1 1 2 7 2 0 0 1 
			 
			  Secure training centres   
			 Hassockfield 2 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 
			 Medway 13 6 7 7 8 4 1 6 2 1 0 
			 Oakhill 13 26 16 10 35 15 24 7 8 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 
			  Young offender institutions   
			 Ashfield 2 3 6 9 3 4 1 5 6 0 0 
			 Brinsford 9 9 1 3 3 1 2 2 3 1 1 
			 Castington 1 1 0 3 2 0 2 0 3 1 2 
			 Cookham Wood 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Downview 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 
			 Eastwood Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Feltham 16 16 16 7 4 8 1 11 0 3 10 
			 Foston Hall 0 0 14 5 13 18 8 0 4 6 5 
			 Hindley 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Huntercombe 0 8 0 3 3 0 11 6 0 0 0 
			 Lancaster Farms 0 10 6 18 5 1 3 1 1 0 1 
			 New Hall 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 
			 Parc 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Stoke Heath 0 1 1 5 2 0 2 1 4 3 1 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warren Hill 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 
			 Werrington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 
			  Note:  Data provided by the YJB. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time

Young Offenders: Wales

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that all young people resident in Wales  (a) serving long custodial sentences and  (b) with mental health needs serve their sentences in prisons in Wales.

David Hanson: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is responsible for deciding where young people who have been sentenced to custody should be accommodated. In making those decisions, its placement team takes account of a range of factors including age, sex, risk factors (including health issues) and where the young person lives. The Government and the YJB believe that young people in custody should be placed in the accommodation most suited to their needs.

HEALTH

Abortion

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health at which NHS institutions abortions were conducted at  (a) 16 weeks,  (b) 17 weeks,  (c) 18 weeks,  (d) 19 weeks,  (e) 20 weeks,  (f) 21 weeks,  (g) 22 weeks,  (h) 23 weeks and  (i) 24 weeks period of gestation in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Statistics are not published by place of termination but only by residence of the woman. This is in line with the Office for National Statistics guidelines on publication of abortion statistics.

Abortion

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many abortions took place in NHS hospitals at  (a) 16 weeks,  (b) 17 weeks,  (c) 18 weeks,  (d) 19 weeks,  (e) 20 weeks,  (f) 21 weeks,  (g) 22 weeks,  (h) 23 weeks and  (i) 24 weeks period of gestation in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many abortions took place in non-NHS hospitals or institutions at  (a) 16 weeks,  (b) 17 weeks,  (c) 18 weeks,  (d) 19 weeks,  (e) 20 weeks,  (f) 21 weeks,  (g) 22 weeks,  (h) 23 weeks and  (i) 24 weeks gestation in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information in the following table shows how many abortions took place at 16-24 weeks gestation that were funded by the national health service and took place on NHS premises; funded by the NHS and took place in the private sector under contract; and were not funded by the NHS.
	
		
			  Abortions by gestation 16-24 weeks and purchaser, residents England and Wales, 1997-2006 
			   16  17  18  19  20  21  22 ( 1) 23  24 
			  2006  
			 NHS Hospital 569 409 276 175 182 212 152 128 34 
			 NHS Agency 1,264 1,160 953 837 660 490 383 328 0 
			 Private 169 138 128 99 90 52 81 54 0 
			 Total 2,002 1,707 1,357 1,111 932 754 616 510 34 
			  2005  
			 NHS Hospital 535 385 202 147 186 211 168 115 38 
			 NHS Agency 1,250 1,069 883 812 644 417 300 175 0 
			 Private 187 185 136 106 95 72 71 46 0 
			 Total 1,972 1,639 1,221 1,065 925 700 539 336 38 
			  2004  
			 NHS Hospital 598 383 237 174 202 177 141 111 41 
			 NHS Agency 1,251 1,383 1,047 759 542 535 519 300 0 
			 Private 267 232 211 92 70 66 75 52 0 
			 Total 2,116 1,998 1,495 1,025 814 778 735 463 41 
			  2003  
			 NHS Hospital 572 438 282 217 198 167 137 123 41 
			 NHS Agency 1,235 1,428 1,184 679 524 532 471 324 0 
			 Private 262 274 239 108 61 80 91 83 0 
			 Total 2,069 2,140 1,705 1,004 783 779 699 530 41 
			  2002  
			 NHS Hospital 672 390 301 207 216 184 144 98 33 
			 NHS Agency 1,178 1,238 886 578 497 438 446 341 0 
			 Private 289 308 234 121 69 108 121 94 0 
			 Total 2,139 1,936 1,421 906 782 730 711 533 33 
			  2001  
			 NHS Hospital 602 404 251 201 216 160 95 78 24 
			 NHS Agency 1,035 1,096 814 502 391 440 454 308 0 
			 Private 325 319 253 154 133 123 149 125 0 
			 Total 1,962 1,819 1,318 857 740 723 698 511 24 
			  2000  
			 NHS Hospital 690 408 321 232 237 167 133 102 22 
			 NHS Agency 1,021 898 727 417 338 329 337 248 0 
			 Private 392 345 285 207 135 146 158 125 0 
			 Total 2,103 1,651 1,333 856 710 642 628 475 22 
			  1999  
			 NHS Hospital 697 364 305 281 252 161 117 100 25 
			 NHS Agency 850 822 662 396 310 278 286 239 0 
			 Private 410 383 318 210 160 152 181 140 0 
			 Total 1,957 1,569 1,285 887 722 591 584 479 25 
			  1998  
			 NHS Hospital 677 359 348 253 266 146 121 85 11 
			 NHS Agency 880 887 643 375 288 284 237 195 0 
			 Private 434 424 337 204 141 159 161 151 0 
			 Total 1,991 1,670 1,328 832 695 589 519 431 11 
			  1997  
			 NHS Hospital 640 397 308 259 249 170 116 71 24 
			 NHS Agency 781 757 575 320 183 227 210 160 0 
			 Private 496 456 303 258 146 156 187 144 0 
			 Total 1,917 1,610 1,186 837 578 553 513 375 24 
			 (1) Includes 24 weeks and 0 days.

Abortion: Young People

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many girls in England and Wales, aged  (a) 12,  (b) 13,  (c) 14 and  (d) 15 years of age had (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three and (iv) four or more abortions in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of repeat abortions by age under 16, England and Wales 
			   12  13  14  15 
			  2004 
			 1 (1)— (1)— 21 90 
			 2 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 3 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 4 or more (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			  
			  2005 
			 1 (1)— (1)— 27 86 
			 2 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 3 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 4 or more (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			  
			  2006 
			 1 (1)— (1)— 17 110 
			 2 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 3 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 4 or more (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) Suppressed value less than 10 (between 0 to nine).

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of accident and emergency department admissions  (a) in England and  (b) at Gloucestershire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were seen, treated and discharged or admitted within target times set in the most recent period for which figures are available; what the (i) average and (ii) longest waiting time for emergency treatment was in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on the proportion of patients attending accident and emergency (A and E) departments who were seen, diagnosed and treated within four hours of their arrival is collected at the level of national health service trusts and published quarterly via the Department's QMAE dataset. This can be compared against the operational standard for A and E waits, which is set at 98 per cent. of patients within four hours.
	For the period October to December 2007 (quarter three 2007-08), performance was at 97.3 per cent. for England and 97.2 per cent. for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS
	Foundation Trust (all types of A and E department).
	The remaining information requested is not currently available centrally.

AIDS

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged  (a) 30 to 39,  (b) 40 to 49,  (c) 50 to 59,  (d) 60 to 69,  (e) 70 to 79 and  (f) 80 years and over were diagnosed with AIDS in each of the last five years, broken down by strategic health authority.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  First AIDS diagnosis within the United Kingdom by strategic health authority (SHA), 2003-07 
			  Age of diagnosis  Year of diagnosis  East midlands  East of England  London  North-east  North-west 
			  2003 18 35 168 8 26 
			  2004 19 33 120 6 38 
			 30-39 2005 26 34 105 6 31 
			  2006 21 32 102 6 26 
			  2007 12 15 46 6 24 
			  2003 11 14 79 13 19 
			  2004 16 15 78 8 22 
			 40-49 2005 9 24 76 <5 13 
			  2006 17 16 71 9 23 
			  2007 <5 11 50 5 23 
			  2003 5 5 24 <5 13 
			  2004 <5 6 29 <5 15 
			 50-59 2005 5 9 24 <5 9 
			  2006 <5 5 15 <5 6 
			  2007 <5 <5 14 <5 15 
			  2003 <5 5 9 0 <5 
			  2004 <5 <5 9 0 <5 
			 60-69 2005 <5 <5 11 <5 7 
			  2006 0 <5 11 0 <5 
			  2007 <5 6 5 0 <5 
			  2003 0 <5 <5 0 0 
			  2004 0 0 <5 0 0 
			 70-79 2005 0 0 <5 <5 <5 
			  2006 0 0 <5 0 0 
			  2007 0 0 <5 0 0 
			  2003 0 0 <5 0 0 
			  2004 0 0 0 0 0 
			 80+ 2005 0 0 0 0 0 
			  2006 0 0 0 0 0 
			  2007 <5 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Age of diagnosis  Year of diagnosis  South central  South-east coast  South-west  West midlands  Yorkshire and the Humber 
			  2003 35 40 16 22 31 
			  2004 30 30 11 22 31 
			 30-39 2005 24 30 10 13 26 
			  2006 17 19 13 11 31 
			  2007 5 12 6 <5 16 
			  2003 10 17 9 13 9 
			  2004 10 24 <5 11 19 
			 40-49 2005 10 14 11 8 8 
			  2006 14 21 6 <5 17 
			  2007 8 18 12 7 11 
			  2003 <5 8 <5 <5 <5 
			  2004 10 8 6 <5 5 
			 50-59 2005 <5 8 6 <5 <5 
			  2006 <5 8 5 <5 8 
			  2007 5 11 <5 <5 5 
			  2003 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 
			  2004 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 
			 60-69 2005 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 
			  2006 0 <5 <5 0 0 
			  2007 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 
			  2003 0 0 0 <5 0 
			  2004 0 <5 0 <5 0 
			 70-79 2005 0 0 <5 0 0 
			  2006 <5 <5 0 <5 <5 
			  2007 0 0 0 <5 0 
			  2003 0 0 0 0 0 
			  2004 0 0 0 0 0 
			 80+ 2005 0 <5 0 0 0 
			  2006 0 0 0 0 0 
			  2007 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Notes: 1. Data are from a UK wide dataset and represent first AIDS diagnoses in the UK within English SHAs. Data are cumulative data to the end of December 2007. Numbers will rise as further reports are received. 2. Cell counts under five are masked by replacing the number with <5 to protect against deductive disclosure of an individual patient's identity. 3. SHAs are those of diagnosis and not of residence. There is evidence that a large proportion of individuals are diagnosed outside of their SHA of residence.  Source: Health Protection Agency

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the recommendations for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome in the new National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines are met, with particular reference to the  (a) causes of the illness,  (b) effectiveness of intervention strategies and  (c) efficient ways to deliver domiciliary care for people who are severely affected.

Dawn Primarolo: Research recommendations made in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines are considered on behalf of the Department by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme (HTA). The director of the HTA programme meets annually with NICE for this purpose. The next of these joint meetings will be held in September.

Chronically Sick: Heywood

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing the targets in the National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions in Heywood and Middleton constituency.

Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT, within the national health service to develop locally the levels of service described in the "National Service Framework (NSF) for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions". The NSF has a 10-year implementation programme from its publication in March 2005, with flexibility for organisations to set the pace of change locally to take account of differences in local priorities and needs. Copies of the NSF is available in the Library.
	Information on the progress that has been achieved locally with regard to the implementation of the targets set out in the NSF can be obtained direct from Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT.

Chronically Sick: Heywood

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on supportive and palliative care has been fully implemented in Heywood and Middleton constituency.

Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care, based on assessments of local needs and priorities. The NHS has been required to set out action plans to achieve compliance with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations on supportive and palliative care. Implementation is being monitored by strategic health authorities (SHAs).
	Information on the rate of progress locally can be obtained through the North West SHA.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS beds were available for patients sectioned under mental health legislation in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: National health service beds are not strictly allocated for patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 or other mental health legislation. A person detained under mental health legislation will be allocated an available mental health bed, in a suitable facility.
	Data about the availability of mental health beds is shown in the following table.
	The year on year reduction in mental health bed numbers reflects the increasing provision by the national health service in England of treatment for patients with mental health conditions in primary care and community settings, without the need for hospital admissions.
	
		
			   Average daily number of beds available for acute mental health services in the NHS in England 
			 2002-03 32,753 
			 2003-04 32,252 
			 2004-05 31,286 
			 2005-06 29,802 
			 2006-07 27,914 
			  Source:  Department of Health form KH03

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were sectioned under mental health legislation in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: Information about the number of patients detained in England under the Mental Health Act 1983 (and related legislation) between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2007 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Total detentions in NHS and independent hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983 and other legislation, 2002-03 to 2006-07 (excluding detentions in places of safety): England 
			   Number of detentions 
			 2002-03 46,489 
			 2003-04 45,691 
			 2004-05 46,673 
			 2005-06 47,394 
			 2006-07 48,083 
			  Note:  The table represents the total number of detentions for the period requested not necessarily the number of patients. It is possible that a patient could be detained on more than one occasion over a twelve month period.  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care: bulletins on in-patients formally detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 and other legislation.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people absconded from secure NHS units in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not routinely collect data on absconsions from national health service low or medium secure mental health services. Data are collected by the Department on absconsions from high secure mental health hospitals and the five most recent years' data are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Absconsions from NHS high secure units in England, 2003 to 2007 
			   Rampton  Broadmoor  Ashworth  Total 
			 2003 1 0 0 1 
			 2004 0 1 0 1 
			 2005 0 0 1 1 
			 2006 0 0 0 0 
			 2007 0 0 0 0 
			  Source:  Department of Health Secure Services

Dental Services

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of units of dental activity (UDA) in England expected to be the subject of a reclaim of UDA payments from activity in 2007 in 2008.

Ann Keen: This information is not available. For dental activity reporting purposes the year 2007-08 has not yet ended. Dental providers have until the end of May to submit all their activity reports for activity delivered during 2007-08.

Departmental Pay

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of  (a) salaries for permanent civil service posts,  (b) salaries for permanent non-civil service posts and  (c) payments to temporary or agency workers in his Department was in each month since May 2005.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The cost of salaries and payments split by months is available only at disproportionate cost.
	The total annual figures for those entities within the Accounting Boundary of Ministry of Justice for 2006-07, and a provisional figure for 2007-08 which is subject to audit, are set out in the following table.
	Figures cannot readily be disaggregated between civil servants and non-civil servants.
	
		
			  Wages and salaries 
			  £ million 
			   Permanently employed  Temporary/agency  Total 
			 2006-07 2,342 132 2,474 
			 2007-08 2,443 133 2,576 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for 2005-06 are not readily available for an aggregated MoJ. The figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08 assume the MoJ was in existence for both years, whereas it actually came into existence on 9 May 2007. 2. Figures include wages and salaries only. No employer social security costs or employer's pension costs are included. 3. Judges, both salaried and fee-paid, are excluded, due to their independent status. 4. The annual figures are for bodies within the Accounting Boundary of MoJ and do not include non departmental public bodies sponsored by MoJ. 5. The Accounting Boundary of the Ministry of Justice includes: HM Court Service, Tribunals Service, Office of Public Guardianship, Wales Office, Scotland Office, National Probation Service, HM Prison Service and MoJ HQ. 6. Figures for 2007-08 are provisional, and subject to audit.

Dietary Supplements: EU Law

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the implementation of the Food Supplements Regulations on the planting, development and import of genetically-modified material.

Dawn Primarolo: No assessment has been made of the effect of the Food Supplements Regulations on the planting, development and import of genetically modified material in the United Kingdom. The Food Supplements Regulations do not contain provisions for genetically modified material. Separate European Community legislation provide measures for the authorisation, cultivation and import of genetically modified organisms.

Doctors: Working Hours

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of junior doctors required to ensure that no junior doctor works more than 48 hours per week by August 2009; and how many junior doctors were working in the NHS at the latest date for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: It is for national health service trusts to implement the European working time directive (EWTD) as part of their health and safety obligations. The Department has commissioned NHS National Workforce Projects to support local implementation of the EWTD for doctors in training through a range of innovative pilot projects and supporting tools. These solutions do not rely on lots more doctors in training and the NHS has already increased the number of trainee doctors by more than half since 1997.
	There were 16,024 junior doctors working in the NHS as of 30 September 2007.

Trans Fats: Restaurants

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider the merits of banning trans fats in restaurants; what representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: In October 2007 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) was asked to review the health impacts of trans fats and potential for action in light of the measures taken in New York and Denmark. As part of this review, the FSA sought the advice of the United Kingdom's independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, which examined the most recent evidence on the health implications of trans fats. The FSA recommended that mandatory restrictions on trans fats were unnecessary as voluntary measures undertaken by the industry, including the restaurant sector, had reduced average population intakes of trans fats to very low levels that are around half the maximum recommended average intake.

General Practitioners

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP surgeries there were in each local authority in England in each year since 1996-97.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect data on number of general practitioner (GP) surgeries by local authority area. However, data is available on number of GP practices (partnerships)—some of which operate from more than one surgery—broken down by national health service organisation.
	Health authorities from 1997 to 2000;
	Primary care groups in 2001; and
	Primary care trusts from 2002 onwards (which were reconfigured in 2006).
	Such information as is available has been placed in the Library.

General Practitioners

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum distance is which people should expect to have to travel to a GP surgery.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not specify maximum distances which people should expect to have to travel to a general practitioner's (GP's) surgery. Patients can seek to register with any GP practice that is taking new patient registrations. Arrangements exist locally between practices and primary care trusts (PCTs) setting out practice boundaries. PCTs are responsible for commissioning local primary care services in accordance with the needs of their local population, including ensuring appropriate access for patients to GP services.

General Practitioners: Manpower

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs his Department estimates will be working in the NHS in  (a) April 2009 and  (b) April 2010; and how many NHS GPs there were at the latest date for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: At 30 September 2007 there were 33,364 general practitioners (GPs) (excluding GP retainers, GP registrars and locums) in the national health service, an increase of 273 (0.8 per cent.) from 2006.
	It is for primary care trusts (PCTs), working locally, to determine the precise workforce requirements for services. More GPs will be needed for the new GP-led health centres and for the new practices in deprived areas. PCTs will be procuring through the new GP practices and health centres during 2008-09 up to 900 extra GPs, nurses and health care assistants.

Hospitals: Cleaning Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects the deep clean of hospitals in England to take place;
	(2)  what proportion of hospitals in England were  (a) deep cleaned throughout,  (b) deep cleaned on targeted wards only and  (c) not deep cleaned as part of his Department's recent deep cleaning programme.

Ann Keen: As set out in the written ministerial statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 93-94WS, deep cleaning is part of a comprehensive range of measures to improve cleanliness and tackle infections set out in the Strategy "Clean, Safe Care: Reducing Infections and Saving Lives". Copies of the strategy are available in the Library.
	The national health service will maintain the high standards of cleanliness that the current programme has provided. This will be monitored and performance managed at a local level. Deep cleaning will be included in Patient Environment Action Team inspection programme from next year. Specialist Healthcare Commission inspections began this month, inspecting against the "Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections". Copies of this publication are available in the Library. All acute trusts will be inspected annually on the cleanliness of their environment. We will also publish best practice guidance on deep cleaning later this year to help hospitals continue to achieve the best possible environment for patient care.
	Information on trusts which had completed the deep cleans as part of the national programme is detailed in the written ministerial statement of 21 April 2008. Details of each trust's cleaning plan are not held centrally as this is a matter for local discretion. Each strategic health authority was responsible for ensuring that appropriate deep cleaning programmes (that complemented existing cleaning regimes) were agreed in their areas and also that the plans were funded appropriately by commissioners.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Ministers in his Department first knew that the NHS quarterly statistics for inpatient and outpatient waiting times did not meet each of the six statistical criteria.

Ben Bradshaw: On 10 March 2008 I received briefing from departmental officials on the findings of the Statistics Commission report entitled 'Review of Statistical First Releases'. This report was published on 13 March 2008 and copies are available in the Library.
	The report included analysis of a release entitled NHS inpatient and outpatient waiting times figures, events during the quarter ending 30 June 2007 which was published on 31 August 2007.
	In order to provide as much information as possible and accord with best practice, from 1 April 2008, all of the Department's National Statistics, including monthly inpatient and outpatient waiting times, are being released in accordance with arrangements approved by the new UK Statistics Authority.
	Monthly inpatient and outpatient waiting statistics, in addition to our newer referral to treatment waiting statistics, continue to be accompanied by neutral statistical commentary.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation his Department had with interested parties to inform the drafting of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill in 2007; and what form such consultation took in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government announced a review of the law on assisted reproduction and embryo research in January 2004, and in drafting the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2007, have taken account of the views of a wide range of interested parties. Following an inquiry and evidence gathering by the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee into human reproductive technologies and the law, the Department launched a public consultation exercise which ran from 16 August to 25 November 2005. A total of 535 responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders organisations and members of the public. A White Paper setting out the Government's policy proposals was published in December 2006, followed by publication of draft legislation for pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee of both Houses in May 2007. Revised in the light of the Joint Committee's report, the Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 8 November 2007.

Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the terms of reference are of the umbilical cord blood review being undertaken by his Department; and which organisations and individuals have accepted invitations to the review meeting on 28 May 2008.

Dawn Primarolo: The proposed review will assess the following:
	current policies, practices, spending and service provision for the collection, storage and use of placental or umbilical cord blood stem cells in the national health service and/or private sector in the United Kingdom; and
	current policies, practices, spending and service provision for the collection, storage and use of placental or umbilical cord blood stem cells in the United States, Canada, Japan, France and China.
	The review, to be carried out by Technopolis Ltd, will prepare an initial report on the current use of stem cells collected at birth. This will be presented to an expert workshop on 28 May 2008.
	Those invited to the workshop include representatives from Government Departments, regulatory agencies, research councils, public and private blood banks and the Royal Colleges. Two international cord blood research experts, Professor Colin McGuckin from Newcastle university and Albert Bekassy from Lund university Sweden, have also agreed to attend.
	Replies are still being received but, so far, 19 representatives from the organisations have agreed to attend.

Keep Warm, Keep Well

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been of the  (a) publication and  (b) distribution of his Department's Keep Warm, Keep Well information booklet; when the booklets were first made available for distribution in 2007; what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the distribution of the booklets; which agencies were involved in the distribution to doctors' surgeries of the booklets; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department recognises the importance of fuel poverty and its impact upon excess winter mortality, health and well-being. The Department works in partnership with other Government Departments and works in close collaboration with Warm Front to increase health sector referral rates for winter warmth interventions. The Keep Well, Keep Warm, campaign is a key aspect of the Department's commitment to address fuel poverty and promote winter warmth.
	The Keep Warm, Keep Well booklet, was made available from September 2007, to allow people to prepare for the colder weather. It was produced in a number of different formats including non-English language versions, braille, audio, large print and an accessible version for people with learning disabilities. The booklet was available in a variety of outlets, including general practitioners (GP) surgeries. All GP surgeries in England were sent a letter inviting them to order copies of the booklet from the DH Publications Orderline, which is managed by Professional Logistics Ltd. In addition, the booklet was distributed to 5,103 GP surgeries via the Waiting Room Information Service.
	The total cost of publishing the booklet was £199,443 and the total cost of distribution was £197,498. As well as making the booklet available via national health service outlets, voluntary and commercial partners distributed the booklet for free.
	Research to measure awareness of how to keep warm and well in winter and the help available was carried out in January. This included some evaluation of the booklet in terms of whether the target audience had seen a copy, but did not assess the efficacy of the distribution methods used.

Medical Equipment: Irradiation

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what consideration his Department has given to the use of ultra-violet germicidal irradiation disinfection devices in the healthcare sector;
	(2)  whether his Department has investigated the use of ultra-violet germicidal irradiation technology in combating tuberculosis infection;
	(3)  what plans his Department has to commission research into the effects and merits of ultra-violet germicidal irradiation technology; what assessment has been made of  (a) the costs and  (b) the merits of introducing such technology; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Rapid Review Panel (RRP) has reviewed 28 technologies which utilise ultra-violet light. All of these technologies are air purification systems. From these 28 products:
	two were awarded a recommendation 2 (basic research and development has been completed and the product may have potential value; in use evaluations/trials are now needed in an national health service clinical setting);
	10 received a recommendation 3 (a potentially useful new concept but insufficiently validated; more research and development is required before it is ready for evaluation in practice);
	seven received a recommendation 4 (not a significant improvement on equipment/materials/products already available which claim to contribute to reducing health care associated infection; no further consideration needed, or unlikely to contribute to the reduction of health care associated infection; no further consideration needed);
	eight received a recommendation 5(insufficient clarity/evidence presented to enable full review of the product); and
	one received a recommendation 6 (an already well established product that does not merit further consideration by the panel).
	Further information can be found on the RRP's website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics__az/rapid_review/default.htm
	Unless a technology is awarded a recommendation 1 from the RRP and considered to be clinically effective, the Department does not undertake assessments of cost effectiveness or, of the benefits involved in introducing such technology.
	Research has shown that ultra-violet disinfection can be valuable in certain circumstances to reduce airborne bacteria.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons are for deciding that  (a) individuals may not opt out of having their demographic data placed on the Spine and  (b) not having demographic data on the Spine will prevent individuals accessing NHS treatment; and whether he informed the Health Committee during their recent review of the NHS patient record that individuals would not be able to opt out of having their demographic details on the Spine.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 April 2008,  Official Report , column 1990W. The relevant information in that answer reflects information provided in paragraphs 23 and 24 of the Department's written evidence to the Health Select Committee, published by the Committee on 25 April 2007.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is undertaking the independent evaluation of the electronic patient records pilot; what their terms of reference are; and when the report will be published.

Ben Bradshaw: The independent evaluation of the Summary Care Record (SCR) Early Adopters Programme is being carried out by a team from the Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences at University College London, led by Professor Trisha Greenhalgh.
	The agreed aims of the evaluation are to assess usability, usage, functionality and impact of the SCR in early adopter sites, and place this in context; to set the stage for the inclusion of further sites and further data sources; to provide timely feedback to stakeholders; and to contribute to the evaluation culture within NHS Connecting for Health and the National Programme for IT.
	The report was published by the evaluation team on 6 May and is available via the University College website at:
	www.pcps.ucl.ac.uk/pcpsweb/openlearning/documents/scrie2008.pdf.
	and the website of the NHS Connecting for Health Evaluation Programme, which is based at the University of Birmingham, at:
	www.pcpoh.bham.ac.uk/publichealth/cfhep/.

Mental Health Services: Children

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training places were available to those seeking to work in child and adolescent mental health services in each year between 1999 and 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not collected centrally in the format requested.

Mental Health Services: Prisoners

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of prisoners received treatment for mental illness in the last five years for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: Mental health services for prisoners have been a key part of the Government's recent reforms of health services for prisoners. The Department is now investing £20 million a year in national health service mental health in-reach services for prisoners. These are community mental health teams working within prisons and are now available in 102 prisons, with some 360 extra staff employed. Every prison in England and Wales has access to these services. Information on how many prisoners receive these services is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mental health professionals entered further training for child and adolescent mental health services in each year between 1999 and 2007.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. Between 2002 and 2006 (the first and latest dates for which data are available) the number of whole time equivalent staff working in specialist children and adolescent mental health service teams in England increased from 7,321 to 9,705, an increase of 33 per cent.
	 Source:
	A profile of child health, child and adolescent mental health and maternity services in England in 2007.

NHS: Freedom of Information

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department monitors freedom of information  (a) requests to and  (b) responses from individual NHS trusts; and whether trusts are required to report to his Department freedom of information requests which they receive.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not monitor freedom of information requests or responses from individual national health service trusts, nor does it require trusts to report freedom of information requests which they receive.
	NHS trusts are public authorities in their own right, as designated in schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. They are therefore individually responsible for freedom of information requests which they receive.

NHS: Manpower

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what qualifications and criteria were applied to  (a) the selection of individuals to serve on the (i) strategy group, (ii) project executive group, (iii) national reference group and (iv) psychodynamic psychotherapy group within the Skills for Health Psychological Therapies National Occupation Skills Project and  (b) the National Occupational Skills (A) development consultants and (B) research consultants.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	This project is being managed by the sector skills council Skills for Health, under the overall programme to develop national occupational standards. I am asking the chief executive of Skills for Health to write to the hon. Member about this matter.

NHS: Procurement

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the terms of reference of the joint Office of Government Commerce and NHS Purchasing supply review is; when the review is expected to be complete; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the outcomes of the recent Strategic Review of Collaborative Procurement in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The programme of Procurement Capability (PCR) Reviews was announced in HM Treasury's publication "Transforming Government Procurement" in January 2007. Copies of this publication are available in the Library.
	The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) was tasked with carrying out these reviews and the Department's review began on 10 March 2008.
	The scope of the review is to assess:
	the Department's own capability in respect of procurement; and
	the leadership, systems and support it has in place to promote and develop high standards of procurement in the national health service—and in respect of social care provision.
	The review will be completed with publication of a report by the OGC in November 2008.
	The Strategic Review of Collaborative Procurement in the NHS is not yet complete. Consequently, no assessment has been made of the outcomes of the review at this stage although it will be taken into account in the Department's response to the PCR recommendations.

Palliative Care: Heywood

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data are used by commissioners to determine the need for specialised palliative and neurological care in Heywood and Middleton constituency.

Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care and neurological care, based on an assessment of local needs and priorities. Strategic health authorities are responsible for monitoring PCTs to ensure they are effective and efficient.
	The "NHS operating framework for 2007-08" asked PCTs, working with local authorities, to undertake a baseline review of their end of life care services. These will allow local commissioners to assess current services, identify gaps and obtain a much clearer view of local need, which will inform local commissioning.
	Regarding neurological care, the information strategy published alongside the "National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions" outlines commissioners' information requirements and a series of local and national actions designed to meet those needs. Copies of the "National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions" are available in the Library.

Pharmacy

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the contribution independent pharmacies make to the provision of access to primary health care; and if he will make a statement;.
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects of polyclinics on independent pharmacies.

Dawn Primarolo: As at 31 March 2007, of nearly 11,000 pharmacies in England and Wales, 41 per cent. were classified as independent, which we define as those in chains of five or fewer outlets.They as well as other community pharmacies are well placed to play an important part in improving access to primary health care. Our White Paper "Pharmacy in England—Building on strengths, delivering the future" published last month sets out a comprehensive development programme for them to provide an extended range of quality clinical services. These include help for a range of minor ailments, offering screening services and providing support for people newly prescribed medicines for a long-term condition.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are currently talking to local stakeholders, including patients and clinicians, to consider how new general practitioner-led health centre services are best provided to meet local needs and the effect they may have on existing provision. PCTs will continue to ensure there are adequate arrangements in place for patients to access pharmaceutical services.

Psychiatric Nurses: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision is made in the training of psychiatric nurses for the recognition and understanding of the mental health needs of those aged under 25 years.

Ivan Lewis: There is currently no specific education or training route in to specialist children and adolescent mental health services.
	The Nursing and Midwifery Council set out the curriculum for pre registration training and standards for registration as a general mental health nurse. Local health trusts arrange post registration training and development with their higher education providers.
	We do share a commitment with these bodies that all health professionals are trained, so that they have the skills and knowledge to deliver a high quality health service to all groups of the population with whom they deal.

Psychiatry

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons humanistic traditions are not accepted as a standard psychotherapy modality under his Department's Skills for Health project; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	This project is being managed by the Sector Skills Council Skills for Hearth, under the overall programme to develop national occupational standards. I am asking the chief executive of Skills for Health to write to the hon. Member about this matter.

Smoking

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has collated the number of cases of illnesses caused by the effects of passive smoking since the implementation of the smoking ban in 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: We have commissioned research on the health impacts of smokefree legislation in England. However, early assessments are that this legislation is proving to be effective in significantly reducing levels of second hand smoke in enclosed public places and workplaces.
	Research from Scotland has reported a range of benefits since smokefree legislation was introduced there, including dramatic improvements in air quality in pubs, improved health, reduced tobacco consumption and no increase in the amount of smoking in the home.

Social Services

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 154-61W, on social services, what outcomes of assessments for social care needs are included in his Department's definition of other sequel.

Ivan Lewis: The definition of 'other sequel' relates to individuals who complete the assessment process but then leave the local authority area, go into hospital or die before a service can be delivered.

South Staffordshire PCT: Finance

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects of his Department's methodology for distributing revenue funding to primary care trusts on the funding available to South Staffordshire PCT in each of the last three years;.
	(2)  if he will increase the proportion of his Department's revenue funding to primary care trusts payable to South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust from 2009-10 onwards.

Ann Keen: Revenue allocations are made to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine PCTs' target shares of available resources, to enable them to commission similar levels of health care for populations with similar needs.
	South Staffordshire PCT received allocations of £653.7 million in 2006-07 and £716.1 million in 2007-08. These represent a cash increase of £116.5 million or 19.4 per cent. over the two years. All PCTs received an above inflation cash increase of 5.5 per cent. in their 2008-09 allocations. South Staffordshire PCT received £755.3 million, a cash increase of £39.1 million in 2008-09.
	The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) continuously oversees the development of the weighted capitation formula. ACRA is an independent body, made up of NHS managers, academics and GPs.
	As part of its work programme to support revenue allocations to PCTs post 2008-09, ACRA has reviewed the main elements of the formula. This work will inform ACRA's final recommendations to Ministers on potential changes to the funding formula. Ministers plan to make the allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11 by summer this year based on a new formula. PCTs will be informed of the changes to the formula following the allocations announcement.

Strokes: Health Services

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure the NHS provides effective care to people in the first hours following a stroke.

Ann Keen: The National Stroke Strategy published in December 2007 sets a clear standard to ensure that effective urgent care is in place, including transfer to an acute stroke centre that provides access to scans, thrombolysis where appropriate, and prompt admission to a specialist stroke unit. In addition to the funding that has gone to primary care trusts, £105 million of central funding over three years will support implementation, including to support change in acute and community services, and to raise public awareness. Copies of the strategy are available in the Library.
	In the "NHS Operating Framework 2008-09", and accompanying "vital signs", stroke is one of the national requirements; all hospitals are expected to improve their performance in treating people with stroke. Copies of these publications are available in the Library.
	We have also set up, as part of the Stroke Improvement Programme, a central team to support the development of local stroke care networks. We are asking all local stroke networks to work together to ensure that these services are provided.

Surgery

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations have been cancelled in each of the last five years, broken down by trust.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Department collects information on the number of operations cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons. Data for 2002-03 to 2007-08 (quarter 1-quarter 3) are shown in the following table.
	The Government's cancelled operations policy introduced in April 2002 provides an incentive for hospitals to avoid cancellations by giving patients the right to move to the hospital of their choice if they are not treated within 28 days. Since this came into force the number of patients cancelled at the last minute, has fallen from 1.5 per cent. to 1.0 per cent. of elective activity.
	
		
			  Cancelled operations for non clinical reasons, NHS organisations in England, 2002-03 to 2007-08 
			Number of last minute cancellations for non clinical reasons 
			  OrgID  Name  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 Q1 to Q3 
			  England 67,254 66,303 68,569 60,803 52,005 40,579 
			 
			 REM Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust 326 295 306 273 246 179 
			 RCF Airedale NHS Trust 94 105 105 96 132 76 
			 RTK Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust 137 301 419 432 426 377 
			 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 2,168 2,147 2,426 1,566 906 424 
			 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 1,346 404 399 279 294 179 
			 RFF Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 143 88 148 138 171 210 
			 RNJ Barts and The London NHS Trust 928 593 502 506 531 298 
			 RDD Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 212 266 286 278 169 200 
			 RC1 Bedford Hospital NHS Trust 152 180 201 190 208 170 
			 RQ3 Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Trust 202 229 330 309 234 164 
			 RLU Birmingham Women's Health Care NHS Trust 21 34 24 43 48 43 
			 RMB Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust 349 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 RXL Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 671 763 576 428 279 285 
			 RMC Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 134 187 244 319 238 233 
			 RAE Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 320 432 447 530 439 267 
			 RXH Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust 1,062 912 578 440 255 189 
			 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 324 425 289 214 181 143 
			 RXQ Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust n/a 382 375 442 325 238 
			 REU Burnley Health Care NHS Trust 333 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5DQ Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth PCT 5 16 0 14 0 n/a 
			 RJF Burton Hospitals NHS Trust 260 246 247 249 126 108 
			 RWY Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust 153 295 386 362 374 153 
			 RGT Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 645 769 1,090 507 460 339 
			 RW3 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust 547 748 968 1,062 1,149 800 
			 5JC Charnwood and North West Leicestershire PCT 8 6 32 21 45 n/a 
			 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust 185 151 180 115 103 76 
			 RFS Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 188 191 233 213 152 141 
			 RBV Christie Hospital NHS Trust 18 43 16 6 8 7 
			 RLN City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 348 252 208 227 328 249 
			 RJR Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 308 216 206 247 228 215 
			 RXP County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 0 483 474 488 423 324 
			 RN7 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust 201 100 92 102 99 79 
			 RTG Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 259 411 348 281 199 83 
			 5N6 Derbyshire County PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 10 
			 RP5 Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 480 583 482 398 355 305 
			 5QM Dorset PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 4 4 
			 RNA Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust 204 241 226 321 329 301 
			 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 267 206 140 142 124 160 
			 RWH East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 266 557 505 856 682 579 
			 RJN East Cheshire NHS Trust 166 133 115 97 90 97 
			 RVV East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust 663 438 269 299 282 203 
			 RXR East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 0 657 589 469 335 347 
			 RA4 East Somerset NHS Trust 146 100 224 87 66 86 
			 RXC East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust 302 375 632 491 141 130 
			 RVR Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust 353 698 608 281 270 347 
			 5ER Erewash PCT 4 11 7 9 3 n/a 
			 RDE Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust 741 815 800 439 172 222 
			 RDU Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 297 149 310 177 183 183 
			 RR7 Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust 141 158 189 144 87 72 
			 RLT George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust 146 160 196 184 178 162 
			 RTE Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 555 440 468 434 361 343 
			 RJH Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust 781 761 465 565 581 n/a 
			 RP4 Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust 290 143 119 146 115 87 
			 RJ1 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 554 450 739 884 866 675 
			 RQN Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 504 390 688 625 614 n/a 
			 5QC Hampshire PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 8 
			 RCD Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust 36 23 55 107 46 57 
			 RR1 Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust 290 417 197 249 160 409 
			 RD7 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust 374 548 520 509 416 338 
			 RLQ Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust 401 168 388 255 247 187 
			 RQQ Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust 179 180 168 138 133 109 
			 5JA Hinckley and Bosworth PCT 21 21 10 48 4 0 
			 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 52 68 24 45 50 75 
			 RWA Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 877 867 1,045 825 788 729 
			 RYJ Imperial College NHS Trust n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 589 
			 RGQ Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 417 488 533 384 355 238 
			 5CW Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust 31 172 167 123 77 n/a 
			 5QT Isle of Wight NHS PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 52 112 
			 RGP James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust 176 258 267 226 140 135 
			 RNQ Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust 478 494 454 327 177 137 
			 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Trust 318 180 227 209 153 113 
			 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 140 223 168 182 116 139 
			 RXN Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 389 440 406 460 504 356 
			 RR8 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 942 783 1,019 1,349 938 851 
			 5PA Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 72 48 
			 REP Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 89 51 46 57 35 23 
			 RC9 Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust 208 171 169 173 186 94 
			 RWF Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust 402 522 551 931 1,194 596 
			 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 549 678 226 129 50 21 
			 RPA Medway NHS Trust 111 148 140 149 74 87 
			 5EH Melton, Rutland and Harborough PCT 6 0 17 35 25 n/a 
			 RQ8 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust 419 470 447 370 257 359 
			 RJD Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 596 331 241 235 353 401 
			 RXF Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1,408 1,322 1,405 1,095 756 624 
			 RD8 Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust 423 285 295 270 231 167 
			 RP6 Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 74 74 62 292 151 233 
			 RTX Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 400 388 309 462 358 244 
			 5A1 New Forest PCT 17 7 20 8 10 n/a 
			 5DK Newbury and Community PCT 14 39 37 9 n/a n/a 
			 RNH Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 226 156 118 79 146 108 
			 RM1 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust 662 569 492 327 332 241 
			 RVJ North Bristol NHS Trust 462 1,413 1,748 1,406 705 542 
			 RWW North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 278 364 838 503 247 216 
			 RNL North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 848 335 427 538 647 357 
			 5CD North Dorset PCT 11 4 12 3 n/a n/a 
			 RR9 North Durham Health Care NHS Trust 259 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 RN5 North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust 97 133 148 104 71 55 
			 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 152 111 106 66 68 57 
			 RVW North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust 215 270 288 274 286 248 
			 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 617 433 542 480 457 255 
			 RNS Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 1,397 903 1,000 780 888 557 
			 RBZ Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust 95 97 168 163 119 61 
			 RJL Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust 270 427 457 449 398 283 
			 RTF Northumbria Health Care NHS Trust 132 123 133 211 133 128 
			 RCS Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust 778 406 320 378 n/a n/a 
			 RX1 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,181 868 
			 RBF Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust 130 142 174 118 74 48 
			 RTH Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust 1,411 847 992 1,131 896 476 
			 RGM Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 185 166 159 154 167 137 
			 RW6 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 1,228 1,393 1,404 1,170 1,123 931 
			 RGN Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust 253 187 270 298 262 236 
			 RK9 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust 1,001 1,061 1,143 969 745 931 
			 RD3 Poole Hospital NHS Trust 726 419 255 146 146 97 
			 RHU Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 466 368 289 333 328 245 
			 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 171 87 46 45 58 56 
			 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 199 75 91 52 78 104 
			 RPC Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 78 41 62 47 31 34 
			 RX1 Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust 408 664 614 543 n/a n/a 
			 RL1 Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital NHS Trust 35 49 67 62 91 93 
			 RHW Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust 288 216 141 63 118 65 
			 RDZ Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 241 299 243 205 121 86 
			 RT3 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 244 190 183 233 177 203 
			 REF Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 501 387 303 311 274 210 
			 RH8 Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust 735 445 372 491 499 378 
			 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 341 285 306 460 268 162 
			 RQ6 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust 487 462 356 405 399 278 
			 RBS Royal Liverpool Childrens NHS Trust 91 66 102 111 83 75 
			 RAN Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 151 154 97 144 167 119 
			 RRJ Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 38 52 32 33 52 30 
			 RLZ Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals NHS Trust 298 115 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 RA2 Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust 225 209 230 208 216 134 
			 RD1 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust 419 482 613 592 397 242 
			 RPR Royal West Sussex NHS Trust 176 232 176 209 170 81 
			 RM3 Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust 429 730 660 371 163 126 
			 RNZ Salisbury Health Care NHS Trust 519 294 340 470 525 255 
			 RXK Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 859 626 702 706 536 401 
			 RCC Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Health Care NHS Trust 219 302 406 460 265 244 
			 RCU Sheffield Children's NHS Trust 18 24 62 64 62 75 
			 RHQ Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 594 628 658 753 625 814 
			 RK5 Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust 328 269 252 268 242 154 
			 RXW Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust 0 249 478 139 73 311 
			 5M2 Shropshire County PCT 0 3 0 4 0 0 
			 5D1 Solihull PCT 0 4 0 0 0 0 
			 5QL Somerset PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 6 0 
			 5FN South and East Dorset PCT 18 9 7 13 3 0 
			 5M1 South Birmingham PCT 0 0 0 14 0 0 
			 RH2 South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust 18 0 0 0 0 n/a 
			 RA9 South Devon Health Care NHS Trust 431 488 352 265 258 204 
			 RTA South Durham Health Care NHS Trust 160 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 RM2 South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust 971 743 725 609 501 326 
			 5PK South Staffordshire PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 4 
			 RTR South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 682 837 480 412 529 341 
			 RE9 South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust 85 34 29 18 22 47 
			 RJC South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 146 213 270 139 54 68 
			 5FP South West Dorset PCT 15 12 9 0 0 n/a 
			 5MT South Worcestershire PCT 3 23 0 9 17 n/a 
			 RHM Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust 713 1,047 889 895 706 621 
			 RAJ Southend Hospital NHS Trust 509 691 1,007 869 472 321 
			 RVY Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 62 61 73 89 137 70 
			 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 354 765 1,065 753 666 418 
			 RBN St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 171 126 192 159 193 218 
			 RJ5 St. Mary's NHS Trust 97 365 367 303 192 n/a 
			 RWJ Stockport NHS Foundation Trust 187 231 252 237 291 214 
			 RNT Stoke Mandeville Hospital NHS Trust 583 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 RTP Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust 505 407 708 268 272 215 
			 5LT Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 0 4 0 0 0 n/a 
			 RN3 Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust 145 178 128 167 89 55 
			 RMP Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust 498 103 87 61 38 43 
			 RBA Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust 69 263 395 434 271 181 
			 5AH Tendring PCT 8 0 0 0 0 n/a 
			 RBQ The Cardiothoracic Centre—Liverpool NHS Trust 59 161 289 289 128 68 
			 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 360 247 137 150 103 75 
			 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 42 199 187 136 165 134 
			 RBT The Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 428 287 361 284 297 202 
			 RTD The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust 1,014 837 816 742 525 422 
			 RQW The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 323 262 213 311 293 232 
			 RKF The Princess Royal Hospital NHS Trust 55 29 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 RCX The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust 284 308 295 236 191 135 
			 RFR The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust 138 159 192 194 220 262 
			 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 68 83 141 72 79 59 
			 RL4 The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust 172 401 484 280 158 121 
			 RKE The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 134 87 102 122 111 115 
			 RM4 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust 271 242 297 342 255 100 
			 RA7 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust 1,244 697 567 535 513 611 
			 RWD United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 758 793 919 885 856 542 
			 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 157 272 483 547 605 458 
			 RRK University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust 168 163 99 69 76 72 
			 RJE University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust 1,038 886 1,379 849 592 446 
			 RKB University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust 624 581 274 128 284 156 
			 RWE University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust 1,053 1,042 895 534 401 442 
			 RBK Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust 106 82 134 183 182 133 
			 RET Walton Centre For Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust 97 161 213 115 125 91 
			 RBD West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust 390 378 332 408 288 143 
			 RWG West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 244 815 666 621 929 790 
			 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 105 116 52 69 28 92 
			 RGR West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 194 425 585 275 225 170 
			 RA3 Weston Area Health NHS Trust 219 178 127 113 93 46 
			 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 332 389 494 312 261 120 
			 RN1 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust 376 712 490 293 356 206 
			 RBL Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 148 112 53 58 73 76 
			 5PL Worcestershire PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 9 
			 RWP Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 856 1,073 943 656 389 293 
			 RPL Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust 91 139 284 306 314 249 
			 RRF Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust 391 308 250 249 245 234 
			 RCB York Hospitals NHS Trust 150 162 187 121 86 81 
			  Notes: 1. The table shows the organisations as they existed, at the time of each collection. 2. A last minute cancellation is one that occurs on the day the patient was due to arrive, after they have arrived in hospital or on the day of their operation. 3. Some common non-clinical reasons for cancellations by the hospital include: ward beds unavailable; surgeon unavailable; emergency case needing theatre; theatre list over-ran; equipment failure; admin error; anaesthetist unavailable; theatre staff unavailable; and critical care bed unavailable. 4. An operation which is rescheduled to a time within 24 hours of the original scheduled operation should be recorded as a postponement and not as a cancellation. The QMCO collection does not record the number of postponements.  Source: Department of Health dataset QMCO

Vaccination: Thiomersal

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what year the NHS ceased to use thiomersal in vaccine doses under the public vaccination programme; and in what year the last vaccine stocks containing thiomersal were  (a) exhausted and  (b) withdrawn.

Dawn Primarolo: The routine childhood vaccination programme has used only thiomersal-free vaccines from September/October 2004. The remaining centrally held stocks containing thiomersal were destroyed when their date expired. No vaccine was withdrawn.
	Details of the changes, including the rational, are contained in the Chief Medical Officer's letter, copies of which have been placed in the Library and are also available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersand circulars/Professionalletters/Chiefmedicalofficerletters/DH_4087345.

Wafarin

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the provision of wafarin monitoring services by private providers; and what assessment he has made of the provision of such services by a private provider in the Birmingham area.

Dawn Primarolo: Primary care trusts are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, including anticoagulant medicine. The National Patient Safety Agency issued Patient Safety Alert 18 concerning Safer Practice with Anticoagulants in March 2007. The alert included a range of safer practice recommendations to make the use of anticoagulants safer. These included guidance for commissioners of anticoagulants services.